Repair of ascending aortic pseudoaneurysm eroding through the sternum

Sulaiman B Hasan, Aga Khan University
Fazal Khan, Aga Khan University
Shiraz Hashmi, Aga Khan University
Mohammad Tariq, Aga Khan University
Ghufranullah Khan, Aga Khan University

Abstract

Abstract

In reoperation for an ascending aortic pseudoaneurysm eroding through the sternum, a left ventricular vent allows careful unhurried sternal division under deep hypothermic circulatory arrest. We repaired ascending aortic pseudoaneurysms in 2 patients who had undergone aortic valve implantation 6 and 21 months earlier. A minithoracotomy was made in the left 5th intercostal space, and a vent was placed in the left ventricular apex. Repair was accomplished with a bovine pericardial patch reinforced with a Teflon felt strip. Both patients made an uneventful recovery with good functional status at discharge at the 8- and 18-month follow-up