Repair of primary or complicated aortic coarctation in the adult with cardiopulmonary bypass and hypothermic circulatory arrest

Objective Patients with primary aortic coarctation or complications of a previous coarctation repair may seek treatment as adults. Management options include open, endovascular, hybrid, and extra-anatomic repairs. We evaluated the results of open direct repair with total cardiopulmonary bypass and hypothermic circulatory arrest. Methods Twenty-seven patients with primary coarctation with or without associated aortic abnormalities or with complications of a previous coarctation repair were treated during a 20-year interval. Mean age was 37 years (range, 15-71 years). Thirteen patients had primary coarctation (7 with associated aneurysms), 3 patients had aneurysms of the aorta above or below a noncritical narrowing of the aorta at the isthmus ("pseudocoarctation"), and 11 patients had previous repair of a coarctation. The previous repairs were bypass grafting of the coarctation (n = 5), interposition grafting (n = 3), patch angioplasty (n = 2), and primary repair (n = 1). Results Mean durations of cardiopulmonary bypass, hypothermic circulatory arrest and hypothermic fibrillation were 104, 36, and 76 minutes, respectively. There were no in-hospital deaths, and no patients sustained stroke, spinal cord ischemic injury, or renal or respiratory failure. Thirteen patients received no blood products. No patient has had evidence of recurrent coarctation or aneurysm formation. Conclusions Cardiopulmonary bypass with hypothermic circulatory arrest is a safe and suitable technique for treatment of primary and recurrent coarctation. It is associated with low operative risk and absence of major complications.