Condition · 2 treatment paths
Aortic Dissection
Aortic dissection is a tear in the inner wall of the aorta that lets blood split its layers. It causes sudden, severe chest or back pain and is life-threatening.
Send your imaging + plan. Board-reviewed opinion in 5–10 working days.
- Treatment paths
- 2Treatment paths
- Specialties
- 1Specialties
- Typical severity
- SevereTypical severity
About aortic dissection
What to know
The pain is often described as tearing and may move as the dissection spreads, sometimes with fainting, stroke symptoms or unequal pulses. Emergency CT angiography confirms the diagnosis. It is classified by location: type A involves the ascending aorta, while type B involves only the descending aorta.
Type A is a surgical emergency, treated by open repair that replaces the torn section of the aorta. Type B is usually managed with strict blood pressure and heart rate control in hospital, and endovascular stent grafting (TEVAR) if there is poor blood flow to organs, rupture, or ongoing pain. Lifelong medicine and scans follow. Because it is an emergency, treatment abroad is rarely realistic.
Pre-flight workup
Tests to have already done
- This is an emergency: sudden tearing chest or back pain needs immediate local emergency care, not international travel.
- CT angiography reports showing the extent of the dissection, which branch vessels are involved and the true and false lumen.
- Whether it is type A (ascending aorta) or type B (descending), and the date it started.
- Blood pressure records, medicines and history of Marfan syndrome, bicuspid valve or earlier aortic surgery.
- Echocardiogram showing the aortic valve and any fluid around the heart.
Second opinion
When to get a second look
- Travel abroad is not safe in the acute phase; later second opinions concern long-term management or stent grafting.
- You have type B dissection and are weighing medicine against stent graft repair.
- An aneurysm has formed in the dissected segment during follow-up.
- A genetic cause is suspected and relatives have not been screened.
Talking to your doctor
Questions to ask
- Is my dissection type A or type B, and which parts of the aorta are involved?
- Is blood supply to any organs or limbs affected?
- Do I need surgery or a stent graft now or later?
- What blood pressure target should I aim for, and which medicines will I need for life?
- How often will I need CT or MR scans?
- Should my family members be screened for aortic disease?
Outlook
Realistic prognosis
Type A dissection is a life-threatening emergency, and survival depends on rapid surgery. Those who reach and survive repair often do well long term, but need lifelong imaging and strict blood pressure control. Type B dissection may be managed with medicine and monitoring, with stent grafting if complications occur. Outcome depends on type, organ involvement, age, and underlying aortic disease.
01 · Specialties
Specialties that treat Aortic
Diagnostic workup
Before you pick a hospital, get the workup right
Picking the right treatment is downstream of a complete diagnosis. Skip steps here and the destination surgeon usually re-orders them anyway — at higher cost and another week on the ground.
- Confirm the diagnosis on imaging or labs
For aortic dissection, plan on the workup your home doctor would order anyway — typically a recent specialist consult plus the imaging / labs the destination team will need to quote accurately. Anything older than 90 days usually gets re-done.
- See a cardiac surgery specialist locally first
An in-person clinical exam at home — even a single consult — costs little and dramatically improves the destination plan. Bring back: written impression, recommended procedure, surgical-risk class, and any contra-indications.
- Send us the file for a free second opinion
Two surgeons in our medical panel review the workup independently. They tell you whether they'd operate, watch, or refer — even if that means recommending against travel.
- Pick a path with timeline + cost in writing
Once a treatment is the right call, we line up 2–3 hospital options with itemized quotes, surgeon profiles, and a travel timeline. You hold the file — switch hospitals or step away at any point.
Where to be treated
Aortic Dissection treatment by destination
04 · FAQ
Common questions about aortic dissection
Is aortic dissection always an emergency?
A new type A dissection is a surgical emergency, and acute type B needs urgent hospital care. Chronic, stable dissections are managed more slowly.
Can I live a normal life afterwards?
Many people do, with strict blood pressure control, lifelong medication and regular imaging. Heavy lifting is usually restricted.
Can it happen again?
The remaining aorta stays at risk, which is why blood pressure control and scans are lifelong. Genetic causes may also affect relatives.
Clinical context
Working up aortic dissection properly
A condition like aortic dissection is rarely well-served by jumping straight to treatment shopping. The sequence below is what a cardiac surgery specialist would expect to see completed — and the absence of any step is the right cue to delay travel decisions.
Diagnostic workup, in sequence
- First-line clinical assessment
History, physical exam, and risk-factor review by a senior generalist or cardiac surgery specialist. Symptoms list, family history, prior workup notes, and current medication list should travel with the patient.
- Standard imaging + labs
Baseline blood work, condition-specific imaging (ultrasound / X-ray / MRI / CT — depending on indication), and ECG / pulmonary function as relevant. Bring digital copies of any prior imaging — saves repeat scans and the cost that goes with them.
- Specialist diagnostic workup
Procedure-specific tests — biopsy, cardiac catheterisation, endoscopy, or genetic / molecular profiling depending on the suspected diagnosis. Done at the centre that will treat, ideally, so results integrate cleanly into the treatment plan.
- Multidisciplinary review (where indicated)
Cancer, complex cardiac, transplant, and rare-disease cases should be reviewed by a multidisciplinary panel — surgical, medical, imaging, and pathology — before any treatment commits. Single-discipline plans for complex disease are a quality red flag.
When to escalate urgently
- Acute worsening of established symptoms — sudden chest pain, shortness of breath at rest, neurological deficit, severe bleeding, persistent high fever.
- Loss of consciousness, severe persistent vomiting, or any focal neurological event.
- Symptoms in the early hours of onset that fit a time-sensitive treatment window (stroke, MI, sepsis) — every hour costs outcome.
- If you are travelling internationally for treatment and develop these symptoms in transit, divert to the nearest emergency department; do not wait to reach the planned destination.
Before you book international travel
- Confirm your specific diagnosis is fully worked up before you commit to a treatment plan abroad. Travelling for the workup is fine; travelling for treatment without the workup done is not.
- Get your case reviewed remotely by the destination centre's team before you book flights — credible international patient programs review imaging + reports before they confirm the surgical plan.
- Bring a digital + physical copy of your full medical record: imaging on USB drive in DICOM format, labs in PDF, current medication list with dosages, allergies, and any prior surgical reports.
- Plan for the post-op rehabilitation phase before you fly — the surgery itself is rarely the bottleneck.
- Confirm that follow-up imaging and any necessary in-person reviews can be done at home — a treatment plan that requires repeat international trips is more burdensome (and more expensive) than the headline procedure.
Mbinu na viwango vya uhariri
This aortic dissection overview is written by the editorial team from published Cardiac Surgery sources and lists 2 treatment options offered by hospitals on our network. The page shows its last-updated date. Clinical descriptions are editorial — your treating clinician confirms what's right for your specific case.
- Taarifa za hospitali. Maelezo ya hospitali yanakusanywa kutoka vyanzo vya umma na tovuti za hospitali. Uidhinishaji (JCI, NABH na mengine) huonyeshwa pale tulipo na rekodi. Daima omba hospitali cheti chake cha sasa.
- Sifa za madaktari. Sifa, utaalamu na wasifu hutoka wasifu wa daktari hospitalini. Leseni hukaguliwa kwenye rejista ya baraza la kitaifa la madaktari tu pale wasifu unapoonyesha alama ya "Leseni imehakikiwa" yenye tarehe.
- Bei. Viwango vya bei ni vya kukadiria, vimekusanywa kutoka orodha za bei na vifurushi vya hospitali na huonyeshwa na tarehe ya mwisho ya kusasishwa. Unacholipa ni kile kilichoandikwa kwenye nukuu ya hospitali.
- Maandishi ya kitabibu. Imeandikwa na timu ya wahariri ya Medcasts kutoka vyanzo vya kliniki vilivyochapishwa. Isipokuwa ukurasa umetaja mhakiki kwa jina, haujakaguliwa na daktari.
- Uhuru. Hospitali haziwezi kulipa ili kubadilisha nafasi yao kwenye kurasa zetu.
Aortic Dissection
Continue evaluating aortic dissection care
Condition overview is one entry. These hubs route the same care decision via specialty, surgeon, treatment, and destination — including the doctors actively treating aortic dissection.
- Surgeons Doctors treating Aortic Dissection Volume-ranked specialists across all relevant specialties.
- Specialty Cardiac Surgery hub Programs, surgeons, hospitals across cardiac surgery.
- Procedure Aortic Dissection Type A Repair First-line treatment with success rates, recovery, hospital pricing.
- Procedure TEVAR (Thoracic Endovascular Aortic Repair) Alternative treatment path with cost and recovery data.
- Browse All 79 conditions Map condition → specialty → first-line treatment.
- Browse 9 destination countries Cost-of-care profiles, hospital programs, visa playbooks.
- Compare Hospital comparison Side-by-side accreditations, ratings, beds, and pricing.
- Compare Doctor comparison Surgeons compared on volume, fees, languages, video-consult availability.
- Tool Match-me triage Three questions, get a specialty + destination + 3-hospital shortlist.
- Tool Cost calculator Hospital-reported pricing across procedures × destinations.
- Action Free second opinion Independent panel review of your case in 48 hours — no charge.
Hatua inayofuata · Aortic Dissection
Free second opinion on your Aortic case.
Share imaging and the current plan. Multidisciplinary board returns a written opinion within 5–10 working days — no obligation to travel.