Case Report
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2021. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Clin Cases. Mar 6, 2021; 9(7): 1755-1760
Published online Mar 6, 2021. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v9.i7.1755
Use of three dimensional-printing in the management of floating aortic thrombus due to occult aortic dissection: A case report
Tie-Hao Wang, Ji-Chun Zhao, Fei Xiong, Yi Yang
Tie-Hao Wang, Ji-Chun Zhao, Fei Xiong, Yi Yang, Department of Vascular Surgery, Sichuan University West China Hospital, Chengdu 610000, Sichuan Province, China
Author contributions: Wang TH, Zhao JC and Yang Y performed the surgery and wrote the paper; Wang TH and Xiong F collected the information and followed the patient; Wang TH and Yang Y revised the paper; all authors read and approved the final manuscript.
Supported by Sichuan Foundation of Science and Technology, No. 2019YJ0066; and Sichuan Foundation of Science and Technology, No. 2019YFS0346.
Informed consent statement: Informed written consent was obtained from the patient for publication of this report and any accompanying images.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
CARE Checklist (2016) statement: The authors have read the CARE Checklist (2016), and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the CARE Checklist (2016).
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Yi Yang, MD, Assistant Professor, Department of Vascular Surgery, Sichuan University West China Hospital, No. 37 Guo Xue Xiang, Chengdu 610000, Sichuan Province, China. yangyidoc09@163.com
Received: November 30, 2020
Peer-review started: November 30, 2020
First decision: December 13, 2020
Revised: December 18, 2020
Accepted: December 29, 2020
Article in press: December 29, 2020
Published online: March 6, 2021
Processing time: 91 Days and 1.1 Hours
Core Tip

Core Tip: Floating thrombus within the thoracic aorta is a rare but a life-threatening source of systemic emboli. The pathogenesis of floating aortic thrombi is not yet fully understood. Occult aortic dissection is a potential cause of floating aortic thrombus, which is most commonly detected at autopsy. Misdiagnosis may cause repeated recurrence of floating thrombus. We report a floating aortic thrombus caused by occult aortic dissection identified with the assistance of a three-dimensional printed model. Thoracic endovascular repair was the optimal treatment method in this patient, with promising results. Similar cases have not previously been reported.