Type A aortic dissections during pregnancy are rare but lethal events, with reported mortalities as high as 60%. Unique changes in hemodynamics, hormone-related alterations in aortic tissue, and preexisting risk factors place patients at an elevated risk for dissection. We report a successful repair of a Type A aortic dissection at 32 weeks of gestation, with excellent outcomes in both mother and child. This report highlights the importance of gestational age and multidisciplinary effort.

Coexistence of obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and severe aortic pathology is extremely rare; nonetheless, the association between these two diseases is fascinating. Here we present a unique case report of a patient with obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and aortic arch aneurysm treated by a single surgical procedure.

We report a case of a 45-year-old male suffering from arterial hypertension who was found to have an aortic coarctation with marked hypertrophic compensatory collateral arterial circulation. Although coarctation is relatively rare, this must be included in the differential diagnosis in patients with arterial hypertension with a positive gradient between upper and lower limbs.

This Yale Aortic Institute lecture provides “tips and pitfalls” regarding echocardiographic assessment of the aorta.

Background Techniques to repair aortic pseudoaneurysms have been rapidly evolving. We present our results following open and endovascular repair of aortic pseudoaneurysms from 2009 to 2013.Methods A total of nine patients underwent pseudoaneurysm repair from April 2009 to February 2013. Of them, five underwent open repair and four underwent endovascular repair. The median age was 58 years (range, 40–72 years) and two (22%) were females. Preoperative, operative, and postoperative data are presented along with operative modality.Results Two patients died during the period of study. Patient 1 died from massive hemorrhage at the site of prior stenting. Patient 7 died from postoperative cardiac arrest and respiratory failure. A single patient required hemorrhage-related reexploration. None of the patients experienced stroke or acute renal failure following repair. Median hospital and intensive care unit length of stays were 7.1 (range, 1–20) and 2.0 (range, 1–5), respectively.Conclusions Pseudoaneurysm repair can be effectively achieved through open or percutaneous repair but only after careful consideration of anatomical constraints, as well as patient comorbidities.

We report the case of a 12-year-old girl with balanced double aortic arch with coarctation of the aorta presenting with symptoms of respiratory and swallowing difficulty. On investigation, the patient had a double aortic arch with coarctation and clinically nonsignificant disease in the infrarenal aorta. Division of the nondominant aortic arch was done through a left thoracotomy, along with resection of the coarctation segment and placement of an interposition Dacron tube graft.