Long-Term Changes in the Distal Aorta after Aortic Arch Replacement in Acute DeBakey Type I Aortic Dissection.

Background: We analyzed the long-term results of ascending aortic replacement and arch aortic replacement in acute DeBakey type I aortic dissections to measure the differences in the distal aortic changes with extension of the aortic replacement.

Methods: We reviewed 142 cases of acute DeBakey type I aortic dissections (1996-2015). Seventy percent of the cases were ascending aortic replacements, and 30% of the cases underwent total arch aortic replacement, which includes the aorta from the root to the beginning of the descending aorta with the 3 arch branches.