Contemporary Midterm Outcomes After Primary Repair of Chronic Type A Aortic Dissection.

BACKGROUND: Without surgical repair, acute type A aortic dissection (TAAD) is usually fatal. However, some patients survive without an early operation and progress to the chronic phase. Contemporary outcomes of primary surgical repair of chronic TAAD are unclear, so we evaluated them at our single-practice service. METHODS: During 1990 to 2021, 205 patients underwent repair of TAAD in the chronic phase (>60 days after onset). The 2 relevant DeBakey classifications were nearly equally represented: type I, 52% (n = 107), and type II, 48% (n = 98). The median interval between dissection onset and repair was 7 months (interquartile range, 3-25 months). Kaplan-Meier and competing-risk analyses provided time-dependent outcomes. RESULTS: At the time of intervention, most patients (40%) had chronic symptoms. Type I patients were younger than type II patients; however, comorbidities were similar. Most patients (n = 183 [87%]) underwent hemiarch or total arch repair, although total arch replacement was more common in type I dissection (P < .001). There were 15 operative deaths (7%), and 7 strokes (3%) persisted to the time of death or discharge. No patient had persistent paraplegia. Median follow-up was 5 years (interquartile range, 2-11 years). The 5-year reoperation-free survival was 61% (95% CI, 54%-68%), and the incidence of reoperation was 3% (95% CI, 0.4%-5%). Patients with type I and type II dissection did not differ significantly in survival (P = .2). CONCLUSIONS: Durable repair can be achieved with reasonable operative risk. Treatment is individualized and is associated with low rates of persistent neurologic complications. Despite differing operative approaches by DeBakey type, early and late outcomes were similar.