Aortic dissection is a rare but potentially fatal complication of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Management strategies of PCI induced dissection are not clearly identified in literature; such occurrences often mandate surgical repair of the aortic root with reimplantation of the coronary arteries. Another trend seen in case reports is the use of coronary-aortic stenting if such lesions permit. Several factors impact the management decision including the hemodynamic stability of the patient; mechanism of aortic injury; size, severity, and direction of propagation of the dissection; presence of an intimal flap; and preexisting atherosclerotic disease. We describe a case of a 65-year-old woman who underwent PCI for a chronic right coronary artery (RCA) occlusion, which was complicated by aortic dissection and pericardial effusion. Our case report suggests that nonsurgical management may also be appropriate for PCI induced dissections, and potentially even those associated with new pericardial effusion.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.