Total arch repair versus hemiarch repair in the management of acute DeBakey type I aortic dissection

Objective: In acute DeBakey type I aortic dissection, it is still controversial whether to perform extended aortic replacement to improve long-term outcome or to use a conservative strategy with ascending aortic and hemiarch replacement to palliate a life-threatening condition. Methods: Between 1999 and 2009, 188 consecutive patients (93 women; mean age, 57.4 +/- 11.7 years) with acute DeBakey type I aortic dissection underwent hemiarch (Hemiarch group; n = 144) or total arch replacement (Total arch group; n = 44) in conjunction with ascending aorta replacement. Clinical outcomes were compared after adjustment for baseline characteristics using inverse-probability-of-treatment weighting. Results: Median follow-up was 47.5 months (range 0-130.4 months) and was 92.0% (n = 173) complete. Five-year unadjusted survival and permanent-neurologic-injury-free survival rates were 65.8 +/- 8.3% and 43.1 +/- 9.7% in the Total arch group, and 83.2 +/- 3.3% and 75.2 +/- 4.0% in the Hemiarch group, respectively (P = 0.013 and < 0.001). After adjustment, the Total arch group patients were at greater risks of death (hazard ratio (HR) 2.38, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.21-4.67; P = 0.012), and permanent neurologic injury (HR 3.25, 95% CI 1.31-8.04; P = 0.011) compared to the Hemiarch group patients. The risks of the re-operation for aortic pathology or distal aortic dilatation (>55 mm) were similar for both groups (HR 0.33, 95% CI 0.08-1.43; P = 0.14). Conclusions: Total arch repair was associated with greater morbidity and mortality compared with hemiarch repair in acute DeBakey type I aortic dissection. Rates of aortic re-operation or aortic dilatation were not significantly different between the two surgical strategies. These findings support a conservative surgical approach to circumvent this life-threatening situation. Crown Copyright (C) 2010 European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery. Published by Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved.