Kyobu geka. The Japanese journal of thoracic surgery
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A 70-year-old woman underwent aortic valve replacement and coronary artery bypass surgery with a saphenous vein graft for aortic regurgitation and 99% stenosis in the right coronary artery. During the period of weaning from the cardiopulmonary bypass enlargement of the ascending aorta and bleeding from the suture line were observed. The intraoperative diagnosis of ascending aortic dissection (DeBakey type I) was made with transesophageal and transthoracic echocardiography. ⋯ The combination of transesophageal echocardiography and transthoracic echocardiography permits the immediate diagnosis of aortic dissection. And it is suggested that continuous retrograde cerebral perfusion through the superior vena cava protects the brain for 52 minutes of cerebral circulatory arrest at the lowest nasopharyngeal temperature of 18.7 degrees C. This technique is simple, and required neither special preoperative preparation or special equipment, so that it is suitable especially for intraoperative aortic dissection such as this case.