Is previous cardiac surgery a risk factor for open repair of acute type A aortic dissection?

Objective: The study objective was to determine the optimal treatment for patients with acute type A aortic dissection and previous cardiac surgery.

Methods: A total of 545 patients underwent open repair of an acute type A aortic dissection (July 1996 to January 2017), including patients with (n = 50) and without previous cardiac surgery (n = 495). Data were collected through the University of Michigan Cardiac Surgery Data Warehouse, medical record review, and the National Death Index database.

Results: Compared with patients without previous cardiac surgery, patients with previous cardiac surgery were older (62 vs 59 years, P = .24) and had significantly more coronary artery disease (48% vs 14%, P < .001), peripheral arterial disease (24% vs 11%, P = .01), connective tissue disorders (15% vs 4.5%, P = .004), and acute renal failure on presentation (28% vs 15%, P = .02); and significantly more concomitant mitral or tricuspid procedures, longer cardiopulmonary bypass time, and more intraoperative blood transfusions. There were no statistically significant differences in postoperative major complications between previous cardiac surgery and no previous cardiac surgery groups, including stroke, myocardial infarction, new-onset dialysis, and 30-day mortality (8.9% vs 6.3%, P = .55). Multivariable logistic model showed the significant risk factors for operative mortality were cardiogenic shock (odds ratio, 9.6; P < .0001) and male gender (odds ratio, 3.7; P = .006). The 5- and 10-year unadjusted survivals were significantly lower in the previous cardiac surgery group compared with the no previous cardiac surgery group (66% vs 80% and 42% vs 66%, respectively, P = .02). However, previous cardiac surgery itself was not a significant risk factor for operative mortality (odds ratio, 1.6; P = .36) or all-time mortality (hazard ratio, 1.3; P = .33).

Conclusions: Acute type A aortic dissection in patients with previous cardiac surgery can be repaired with favorable operative mortality and long-term survival, and should be treated surgically.