Stepwise external wrapping procedure for Stanford type A aortic dissection in extremely high-risk patients: case reports.

BACKGROUND Acute aortic dissection (AAD) is a rare, but a life-threatening condition which can lead to coronary, brachiocephalic or branch vessel malperfusion, as well as aortic valve insufficiency, or aortic rupture. Mortality of surgical treatment in high-risk or elderly patients with Type A Acute aortic dissection (TAAAD) still remains high, and treatment for such patients remains controversial. CASE PRESENTATION A new surgical approach which entails "stepwise external wrapping (SEW)" using a zero-porosity artificial graft was developed in extremely high-risk patients with TAAAD. Herein, we described its surgical details and showed two representative cases which was successfully done. CONCLUSIONS Our SEW procedure is a feasible alternative to conventional graft replacement for TAAAD in extremely high-risk or aged patients, although the gold standard consists of surgical replacement of the dissected aorta. (129 words).