Anesthetic Management in Open Descending Thoracic Aorta Surgery

Open surgical repair of the descending thoracic aorta is frequently performed to repair complex aortic aneurysms, but is also done to address other causes of acute aortic syndromes that include aortic transection, contained aortic rupture, penetrating ulcers, intramural hematomas and expanding aortic dissections. This chapter will discuss the pre-, intra-, and postoperative considerations for managing patients undergoing open surgical repair of descending thoracic aortic disease.