Aortic coarctation is a segmental narrowing of the
descending aorta which commonly located distally
to the origin of the left subclavian artery.[
1] This
congenital anomaly is frequently diagnosed and treated
in childhood; however, it can be left undiagnosed
until adulthood.[
2] In this article, we present a
55-year-old female case with severe aortic coarctation
with 30 mmHg gradient, distal to the origin of
the subclavian artery with post-stenotic dilatation
(Figure
1). Computed tomography angiography revealed calcification and aortic wall irregularities
of pre-coarctation segment (Figure
2a) despite no
changes in post-coarctation segment (Figure
2b).
She was on anti-hypertensive therapy for almost
20 years. Transthoracic echocardiography revealed
severe aortic valve stenosis with a mean gradient of
52 mmHg and 42 mm ascending aorta. The patient
underwent graft bypass surgery with left posterolateral
thoracotomy. A 16 polytetrafluoroethylene tubular
graft was anastomosed distally to the origin of the left subclavian artery using side biting clamp and
distal part of the graft was anastomosed beneath
the aneurysmatic segment of the descending aorta.
Postoperative period was uneventful. Beta-blocker
monotherapy was used to control the blood pressure.
Surgery was planned for aortic valve disease. Aortic
coarctation is rarely seen in adult patients. Graft
bypass is a safe and effective treatment.
Figure 1: Computed tomography angiography
showing severe aortic coarctation and poststenotic
dilatation.
Figure 2: Computed tomography angiography of
precoarctation and post-coarctation segment (2a:
Arrow shows calcification and wall irregularities of
pre-coarctation segment, 2b: There is no changes on
aortic wall of post-coarctation segment).
Declaration of conflicting interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest with
respect to the authorship and/or publication of this article.
Funding
The authors received no financial support for the
research and/or authorship of this article.