In-vitro assessment of flow patterns and velocities in different anatomic configurations of descending chronic aortic dissections

To predict further dilatation in patients with chronic aortic dissections, guidelines suggest follow-up of the diameter. However, dilatation is believed to be triggered by haemodynamics conditions and geometry of false (FL) and true lumen (TL), information not captured by assessing only the diameter. We investigated the influence of the anatomy on TL and FL haemodynamics using in-vitro studies of models of realistic aortic dissections, varying the tear number, size, and location. Velocity and flow patterns were analyzed at the tears and within the lumina. The presence of big tears resulted in slower tear velocities and slow and turbulent flow within the FL, whereas small tears resulted in higher velocities through the tears with a more laminar profile. Therefore, tear size and configuration is an important determinant of velocities and flow patterns within the lumina, and might be important to take into account when clinically assessing aortic dissections.