Intimal dehiscence in the abdominal aorta following balloon fenestration for type B dissection

Purpose: To report a case of intimal dehiscence associated with endovascular intervention in patients with aortic dissection. Case Report A 65-year-old man presented with a type B dissection extending to the level of the common iliac arteries. Two Talent stent-grafts were placed in the descending thoracic aorta to close the entry point, but 2 lumens remained. Three days later, abdominal pain prompted another imaging session, which demonstrated a large cylindrical filling defect in the abdominal aorta ("tube-in- tube") assumed to be a partially or completely dehisced intima. Fenestration marginally improved flow to the visceral vessels, and the patient improved clinically. However, 4 days later, recurrent ischemic symptoms prompted surgery; a complete dehiscence of the aortic intima starting at the descending aorta extended to the distal abdominal aorta. The aorta was resected, but the patient died from disseminated intravascular coagulation. Conclusions: Intimal flap dehiscence associated with an endovascular procedure in the management of aortic dissection is an uncommon complication. Early detection and prompt surgical intervention of such a complication could save the patient's life. Endovascular procedures are unlikely to resolve the hemodynamic problem caused by a dehisced, distally migrated, collapsed intima.