Intimo-intimal intussusception: a rare clinical form of aortic dissection

Abstract

A 33-year-old hypertensive man presented with epigastric pain radiating to the back. Transoesophageal echocardiography (TOE) revealed an intimal flap on the aortic arch and descending aorta. No intimal flap of the ascending aorta was detected on TOE or CT. The diagnosis was made on opening the ascending aorta: complete circumferential dissection of the ascending aorta flush with the coronary ostia, with no residual intimal flap, and intimo-intimal glove-finger intussusception of the internal channel into the descending thoracic aorta. Aortic intussusception is a very rare form of Type I dissection, and the absence of intimal tear in the ascending aorta can be misleading and delay the diagnosis.