Open aortic arch surgery: 10 years’ single-center experience

Introduction
Open aortic arch surgery is a complex cardiac surgical procedure.
Aim: We reviewed the 10-year outcomes of elective aortic arch aneurysm surgery in a single cardiac surgical center.

Material and methods
The analysis includes all patients who underwent elective aortic arch surgery at our institution between January 2010 and December 2020. The study population was divided into group A consisting of patients operated on during the first 5 years, and group B, including patients operated on during the subsequent 5 years. The groups were compared with regard to baseline characteristics, scope of the surgery, operative and postoperative data as well as morbidity and mortality.

Results
Eighty-six elective aortic arch procedures were performed during the analyzed period, including 25 (29%) patients in group A and 61 (71%) patients in group B. The hemiarch procedure was more frequently performed in group A (17 patients, 68%) in comparison to group B (21 patients, 34%) (p = 0.008). Stroke was recorded in 6 (20%) patients from group A and 5 (8.2%) patients from group B (p = 0.002). Five-year survival was 60 ±9.8% for group A, and 81 ±6.2% for group B (log-rank test, p = 0.003).

Conclusions
After completion of the learning curve, open aortic arch surgery is associated with acceptable early mortality, low incidence of stroke, and a high 5-year survival rate.