Morphological characteristics and outcomes of aortic repair of acute type A aortic dissection occurring in patients with aortic arch branching variants

To investigate the morphological characteristics and operative outcomes of acute type A aortic dissection (ATAAD) in patients with aortic arch variants.

Of 616 patients with ATAAD, 97 (15.7%) had aortic arch variants, including bovine aortic arch (BAA, n = 66), isolated left vertebral artery (ILVA, n = 25), and aberrant subclavian artery (ASA, n = 6). The characteristics and outcomes were compared between the normal branching group (control, n = 519) and the total/individual arch variant groups.

Compared to the control group, arch entry was more prevalent in the BAA (18.5% vs. 31.8%) and ILVA groups (44%) (both, P < 0.05), and right common carotid arterial occlusion was less common in the arch variant group (6.7% vs. 0%, P = 0.017). The in-hospital mortality (9.2% vs. 9.3%), new-onset stroke (7.3% vs. 7.2%), and 5-year survival (81.7% vs. 78.8%) did not differ markedly between the control and arch variant groups. Arch repair was performed in 28.9% (28/97) of the arch variant group using 3–4 vessel antegrade cerebral perfusion, with 3.8% in-hospital mortality and a 15.4% stroke rate, which were comparable to those of the control group.

Aortic arch variants may influence tear location and involvement of the supra-arch vessels but may not affect postoperative outcomes.