Great view of a cardiovascular surgery for a 19 years old male with Ascending Aortic Aneurysm that underwent dissection or rupture. The damaged section was replaced with an artificial synthetic graft (the fabric tube seen on the upper part). Aortic aneurysm is an enlargement (dilation) of the aorta to greater than 1.5 times normal size.The main complication is rupture, which may cause a massive internal bleeding and rapid death. Thoracic aortic aneurysms often grow slowly and usually without symptoms, making them difficult to detect. And yeah, some aneurysms will never rupture. Many start small and stay small, although many expand over time, getting bigger and riskier. Patient with a ruptured aneurysm may present with a triad of severe abdominal pain, hypotension, and a palpable pulsatile mass and is an emergency situation. Screening using ultrasound scanning is highly useful in high risk patients with the main aim to detect an aneurysm on time and prevent its rupture by an urgent surgical repair.
Every AAA patient that I have ever dealt with has died due to septic shock after repair. Not an MD.. just an ICU RN