Results of the repair of aortic false aneurysm.

Aortic false aneurysm is a rare complication of surgery of the aorta that can occur several months to years after the initial operation. We reviewed our results with false aneurysm repair using deep hypothermia and circulatory arrest. Three patients were reoperated for false aneurysm of the ascending aorta. Femorofemoral cardiopulmonary bypass with a heparinized system was used in all patients. Hypothermic circulatory arrest at an average temperature of 20 degrees C was instituted in all patients for repair. Two patients had a patch repair with pericardium, and the other one had primary repair of the defect. All patients had false aneurysms in the ascending aorta at the site of a previous aortotomy. Two patients had proven infection as the cause. The mean cardiopulmonary bypass time was 183 +/- 20 minutes, and the mean circulatory arrest time was 35 minutes. Operative mortality was not seen. The mean time for extubation in survivors was 10 - 12 hours, and the average time to discharge was 26 days. Aortic false aneurysms can be safely approached using femorofemoral cardiopulmonary bypass, hypothermic circulatory arrest, and patch repair with acceptable operative mortality and long-term survival.