Experimental Acute Type B Aortic Dissection: Different Sites of Primary Entry Tears Cause Different Ways of Propagation

In this experimental model of acute type B aortic dissection, we confirmed that many type B dissections do also have a retrograde component. At the convexity, this component is stopped by the left subclavian artery as an anatomic barrier. At the concavity, the propagation of the dissecting membrane may extend up to the ascending aorta and may therefore cause retrograde type A dissection. These findings may substantiate clinical need for treatment of type B dissections with a primary entry tear at the concavity.