Current review of acute type A aortic dissection in Malaysia

Abstract Acute type A aortic dissection (ATAAD) still poses significant challenges and management dilemmas for cardiovascular surgeons worldwide. Despite the continuous improvement in diagnosis and management strategies for ATAAD, clinical outcomes remain poor and the optimal therapy is still debatable especially those with malperfusion syndrome (MPS). This review is based on the current literature and includes the results from the Aortic Registry of National Heart Institute of Malaysia (NHIM) database. It covers different aspects of ATAAD and concentrates on the outcome of surgical repair. The diagnosis is often delayed leading to variable outcomes. High index of suspicion and urgent treatment is required to tackle this dynamic disease which include the variation in presentation and clinical course. Different surgical techniques and perfusion strategies have been described to save patients. Complex techniques such as total arch replacement (TAR) with frozen elephant trunk and valve sparing root surgery may provide long-term benefit in selected patients, but require significant surgical expertise and experience.