Stories about: midaortic syndrome

Vessel-lengthening technique offers game change for a rare vascular condition

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TESLA concept for midaortic syndrome

Tissue expanders — small balloons that can be filled with saline solution or other fluids to grow skin — have long been used in plastic surgery, most commonly breast reconstruction. They’re based on the simple idea that the surrounding skin will stretch as the device expands over time. That extra skin can then help repair injuries or congenital anomalies or accommodate implants.

Now, a novel approach extends tissue expansion to blood vessels. It is transforming the way that surgeons treat a rare but serious condition called midaortic syndrome, report Heung Bae Kim, MD, Khashayar Vakili, MD and their colleagues at Boston Children’s Hospital.

Midaortic syndrome occurs when the middle section of the aorta is narrowed and typically affects children and young adults. It can cause severe hypertension and can be life-threatening if left untreated. The surgical approach to this condition would be to replace the damaged portion of the aorta with nearby healthy blood vessels. However, this usually isn’t possible because these vessels tend to be too short to adequately fill in. …

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Bypassing a narrowed midaorta with a living, growing graft

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Midaortic syndrome is marked by narrowing of the middle section of the aorta.

By the time he arrived at Boston Children’s Hospital, the 6-month-old boy was near death from midaortic syndrome — a rare but life-threatening condition marked by narrowing of the middle section of the aorta, the largest artery in the body. It had left him with severe hypertension, acute kidney injury and heart failure. As cardiologists worked to stabilize him, the surgical team weighed the options.

With diminished blood flow to the chest, abdomen and lower limbs, a significant number of people with untreated midaortic syndrome die from complications by age 40. The condition can be treated surgically, traditionally with a prosthetic graft made from synthetic material to perform an aortic bypass. But synthetic grafts can pose a number of challenges in children.

“Synthetic grafts don’t grow with the patient, which means that multiple surgeries may be necessary through the years to ensure appropriate graft size,” explains nephrologist Michael Ferguson, MD, who was a member of this patient’s care team. “Artificial grafts also carry a higher risk of thrombosis and infection.” …

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