Fig. 3
From: Aortic emergencies—diagnosis and treatment: a pictorial review
Type A dissection. A 56-year-old patient presented with chest pain in the emergency department. CTA demonstrated a type A dissection. The tear starts at the level of the sinotubular junction and extends into the supraaortic arteries (arrowhead) and the abdominal aorta. The false lumen opacifies to a lesser extent (and later) than the true lumen (a–c). The patient was treated with a modified Bentall procedure (composite graft replacement of the aortic valve, aortic root and ascending aorta, with re-implantation of the coronary arteries) (c–e). Ruptured type A dissection in a 71-year-old female patient (after implantation of a mechanical aortic valve). She presented with acute chest pain. CTA demonstrated a type A dissection restricted to the ascending aorta starting at the sinotubular junction [coronal (g) and sagittal (h) CT reformations]. The axial CT scans (I–j) demonstrate extravasation (arrowhead) and haematopericardium (asterisk)