Engineering Analysis of Aortic Wall Stress in the Surgery of V-shape Resection of the Noncoronary Sinus

Abstract

AbstractAscending aortic aneurysms often include the sinotubular junction (STJ) and extend into the root portion of the aorta. The novel surgery of the V-shape resection of the noncoronary sinus of the aortic root has been shown to be a simpler procedure, comparing with traditional surgeries such as full aortic root replacement, for patients with moderate ascending aortic aneurysm and aortic root ectasia. This novel surgery could reduce the diameter and cross-sectional area of the aortic root. However, the detailed effect on the stress field and the rupture risk of the aortic root and aneurysm has not been fully investigated. In this study, we performed patient-specific finite element (FE) analysis based on the 3D geometries of the aortic root and ascending aortic aneurysm, reconstructed directly from the clinical computed tomographic (CT) images. By comparing the pre- and post-surgery results, we investigated the influence of the V-shape surgery on the stress field and rupture risk of the aortic root, ascending aortic aneurysm and aortic arch. It was found that the surgery could significantly reduce the wall stress of the aortic root, ascending aortic aneurysm, as well the aortic arch, and hence lower the rupture risk.