Successful surgical in situ treatment of prosthetic graft infection by staged procedure after Bentall operation and total aortic arch replacement

Abstract

We report a case of a 29-year-old Marfan patient who developed prosthetic graft infection 10 months after Bentall operation and successive replacement of the remaining ascending aorta and the entire aortic arch for acute aortic dissection. Instead of an aggressive high-risk aortic redo procedure with removal and replacement of the infected prosthetic graft we elected a staged graft-sparing surgical approach. After 18 months of close follow-up the patient is in good condition and free from infectious sequela. This case and our review of the literature suggest that open extensive disinfection followed by tissue flap coverage is highly effective in controlling thoracic aortic prosthetic graft infection and may be considered as first-line treatment in such high-risk aortic arch redo patients.