Haemoptysis from a Dacron graft aneurysm 21 years post repair of coarctation of the aorta

Abstract

We report an unusual complication of a Dacron graft in a 31-year-old woman who had undergone extra-anatomical bypass for coarctation of the aorta aged 11 years. She presented with haemoptysis, and imaging confirmed an aneurysm of the Dacron graft at the proximal anastomosis with the aorta, eroding into the right upper lobe, as well as a smaller aneurysm at the anastomosis with the descending aorta. She underwent a median sternotomy and refashioning of the bypass, and a re-do right thoracotomy with removal of the Dacron graft and a right upper and middle lobectomy.