Bentall Procedure: Damaged portion of the aorta is replaced, the coronary arteries are sewn
to the graft and the aortic valve is replaced.
Hypothermic Circulatory Arrest:
During typical open-heart surgery, blood continues to circulate throughout the body although
major blood vessels are clamped to prevent the flow of blood into the surgical area. In aortic
surgery, it is necessary to perform procedures without clamping the aorta while keeping the
surgical field free of blood. An effective solution to the dilemma of how to temporarily stop
blood circulation without causing injury to the patient resulted in the development of a
technique in the 1970s known as hypothermic circulatory arrest (HCA). HCA is when the
patient is cooled and placed in a state of suspended animation. This technique has proven to be
so important to the long-term results in surgery of the ascending aorta that it is now the standard
of care for this surgery. The ability to safely perform this procedure is due to the use of HCA
during the time the aorta is open and unclamped.
HCA often slows the patient's "waking". This is not cause for alarm; the team will be
monitoring the patient's neurologic state constantly. We often allow the patient at least 24-48
hours to wake before performing any type of testing.
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