Are there different types of aortic dissection?

Are there different types of aortic dissection?

There are two main types:

• Stanford Type A Aortic Dissection: This type of dissection occurs in the first part of the aorta, closer to the heart, and can be immediately life-threatening. It usually requires emergency open chest surgery to repair or replace the first segment of the aorta where the tear started (ascending aorta +/- the arch and/or aortic valve). This is a more common type of dissection than Type B, and the dissection of the aorta usually extends through the entire length of the aorta.
• Stanford Type B Aortic Dissection: This type of tear begins farther down the aorta (descending aorta beyond the arch), and farther from the heart. Like the type A dissection, this usually extends from the descending aorta into the abdominal segment (abdominal aorta), but doesn’t involve the first part of the aorta in the front of the chest. Surgery may or may not be needed immediately, depending on exactly where the dissection is located and if it is or isn’t cutting off blood flow to your organs. These operations usually can be performed with a stent-graft device inserted into the aorta.

Another classification system (DeBakey Classification) defines dissection by three types. Type 1 originates in the ascending aorta and extends through the downstream aorta. Type 2 originates and is limited to the ascending aorta (both would be considered Stanford Type A). Type 3 originates in the descending aorta and extends downward (similar to Type B).