This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Personal Folders Download to citation manager Author home page(s): Manuel Castellá Clemente Barriuso Permission Requests Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Bernabeu, E. Articles by Mulet, J. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Bernabeu, E. Articles by Mulet, J. Related Collections Cardiac - other Great vessels Peripheral vascular

Acute limb ischemia due to embolization of biological glue after repair of type A aortic dissection

Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Hospital Clinic, Villarroel, 170, University of Barcelona, 08036 Barcelona, Spain

*Corresponding author. Tel.: +34 93 2275515; fax: +34 93 4515749.

E-mail address: mcastella{at}comb.es (M. Castellá).

Objective: We present two cases of type A aortic dissection repaired with the help of biological glue, that were followed by acute limb ischemia due to embolism of glue. Methods and Results: A 30-year-old man was diagnosed with aortic dissection from left coronary sinus to right subclavian artery. Under deep hypothermic circulatory arrest (DHCA), distal aortic anastomotic site was reconstructed with injection of Bioglue^® between dissected layers, and a valve sparing inclusion technique was performed using a straight dacron graft. On postoperative day 14, he presented acute limb ischemia due to femoral artery glue embolism that required surgery. A 76-year-old woman with the diagnosis of type A dissection ending proximal to the celiac trunk was operated under cardiopulmonary bypass and DHCA. The ascending aorta was replaced with a straight dacron tube, with resuspension of aortic valve and reinforcement of proximal and distal anastomosis with Bioglue^® between the diseased layers. Absence of previously patent radial pulse was detected intraoperatively, solved with humeral thromboembolectomy. Conclusions: Management of the diseased aortic wall in acute dissections is a surgical challenge for the cardiac surgeon. Despite our group having a positive experience with biological glue in type A aortic dissection, this report reminds us that the use of bioadhesives to reinforce anastomotic sites may be an important tool but it is not free of problems.

Key Words: Aortic dissection; Glue; Embolism