My fiance,had a aortic dissection, big tear around heart, now Dr. says its leaking & he needs more surgery & maybe stents. Can you tell me what this involves. They have to wait a few more months for him to heal from the first surgery before they do another surgery.
Hello, Thanks for writing to Chat Doctor, I am Chat Doctor. Aortic dissection can get to quite a dangerous situation if it's progressing continuously or if it is leaking. Indeed, its only cure is surgery cant be treated with medication and can get dangerous for life if left untreated. It involves opening the chest by vascular surgeon and repairing the torn part of the vessel .usually the torn part is resected and then the normal ends of the remaining artery are joined together, if a big stump of artery has to be taken out then putting some vessel at its place is considered, but this is very rarely done.It's a major surgery which can lead to any outcome, but usually doctors weigh benefits over risks. And in case of a bad dissection. Benefits are always more in getting the surgery done. If done well, patient usually ends up getting saved. Yes it might take 2.3 months to get out of effects of surgery and with time a person can get back to near normal life. I hope this answered your question, if you have more feel free to ask. Regards.