Endovascular repair of type B aortic dissection: a study by computational fluid dynamics

Abstract

Aortic dissection is a dangerous pathological condi-tion where blood intrudes into the layers of the arte-rial walls, creating an artificial channel (false lumen). In the absence of thrombosis or surgical intervention, blood will enter the false lumen through the proximal tear, and join the true lumen again through a distal tear. Rupture of the weakened outer wall will result in extremely high mortality rates. Type B thoracic aortic dissection (TAD), occurring along the de-scending aorta, can be repaired surgically by the de-ployment of an endovascular stent graft, concealing the proximal entry tear. Blood might still flow into the false lumen (FL) through the distal tear. The do-main of such flow should be minimized, as complete thrombosis of the FL is generally believed to be more beneficial for the patient. The dependence on the area ratios of the lumens and size of these tears is studied by computational fluid dynamics.