REPAIRING A RUPTURED AORTA

Marietta high school student Ebrima Bah, 16 and already 6-foot-4, came home from school one winter afternoon a year ago and, as he often did, headed to a nearby gym to play basketball.

Not long after, his sister received a panicked call from Ebrima, saying that he was having stomach cramps and difficulty breathing. When Fatima Bah arrived, she found her brother surrounded by other players, grabbing at his chest.

She called 911, and an ambulance rushed him to a local hospital, where doctors initially thought Ebrima had pneumonia. After further imaging, however, they discovered that he actually had a ruptured type B aortic dissection, a rare, life-threatening condition that usually occurs in older men in their 60s and 70s. The large blood vessel branching off from his heart, his aorta, had torn and temporarily resealed, leaking two liters of blood into his chest.

The hospital called to have him transferred to Emory for emergency surgery. Cardiothoracic surgeon Brad Leshnower and vascular surgeon Yazan Duwayri performed a one-hour thoracic aortic stent graft repair.

“We were able to mobilize our aortic team immediately after receiving the phone call,” says Duwayri, associate professor of surgery. “We brought Ebrima directly into the preoperative area and rapidly to the OR after we confirmed the diagnosis. The short time from arrival to repair allowed us to save his life.”

Emory Aortic Center, which combines expertise in cardiothoracic and vascular surgery, pediatric cardiology, radiology, and genetics, is uniquely qualified to treat patients like Ebrima, adds Leshnower, assistant professor of surgery.

They threaded a long stent up into his aorta to cover the tear. “We were able to do this totally percutaneously,” says Leshnower. “So, no incision. Just with needles and wires.”

Ebrima was released from the hospital on Christmas Day. “I’m really happy,” he told reporters. “Because, you know, they did save my life. I’m really blessed to be alive right now.”

While Ebrima was in the hospital, doctors ordered testing to see if he had any genetic diseases that might have led to the dissection. The testing did not confirm any, which is frequently the case.

“We have seen Ebrima multiple times in follow-up,” Leshnower says. “His thoracic aorta has been completely remodeled by the stent grafts, and he is doing well. We will continue to follow him with life-long aortic imaging surveillance.” n