Acute ascending aortic dissection due to transcatheter patent ductus arteriosus closure in the elderly: An extremely rare complication of transcatheter patent ductus arteriosus closure

Abstract

It is well known that patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) in adults, especially in the elderly, differs from that in pediatric patients. A 68-year-old woman with a PDA with focal calcification at the aortic orifice of the ampulla with a minimum diameter of 4.0mm and length of 14.8mm, was treated with a 10/8-mm Amplatzer duct occluder (ADO) (St. Jude Medical Corp, St. Paul, MN, USA). After device implantation, systolic blood pressure (BP) increased to approximately 220mmHg from 130mmHg. She experienced transient dyspnea from hypertensive heart failure, which improved through continuous infusion of anti-hypertensive agents. She suddenly felt pressure on her chest 12h post-procedure and collapsed. Surgical thoracotomy revealed an ascending aortic dissection into the pericardial space. In retrospective review, the ADO may have been slightly deformed by fluoroscopy. The complication may have been triggered by the resilience caused by device deformation, damage to the aortic wall due to the aortic side of the device, uneven elasticity of the arterial wall, and uncontrolled excessively high blood pressure.<Learning objective: Although transcatheter patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) closure is an established, safe, and effective procedure when treating PDA of the elderly, wall damage due to the device may occur because of atherosclerotic changes different from that of younger patients and blood pressure will rise after closure. Therefore, it is necessary to carefully select the type and size of the device and to strictly control blood pressure in patients with a history of hypertension.>