Abstract
Dissecting aortic aneurysm is a life threatening condition which necessitates prompt diagnosis and management. Between January 1987 and September 1993,58 patients was admitted to our department. Mean age at admission was 53 years.[range 25-82]. Clinical findings included chest pain in 48 cases[83%],renal failure in 12[20%],aortic insufficiency in 11[19%] and stroke in 9[15%]. Predisposing factors were hypertension in 50 cases[86%],Marfan`s syndrome in 6[10%] and diabetes melitus in 1 [2%]. 23 patients[ type A 13,type B 10 ] underwent surgical treatment. Surgical technique for type A included graft replacement of ascending aorta in 7 cases,graft replacement and aortic valve resuspension in 3,and Bentall`s operation in 3 cases. Type B patients were operated when specific indications applied. There were three [Two in type A and 1 in type B] deaths in the operation group and nine [ 5 in type A and 4 in type B] deaths in the medical group. These results support our current policy in the treatment of dissecting aortic aneurysm.