Pitfalls of Retrograde Cardioplegia Cannulation: Left Atrium Dissection

Left atrial dissection (LAD) is a rare complication of cardiac surgery. We present a case of LAD that occurred during a partial arch repair for Stanford acute type A aortic dissection. Since no entry was found in the left atrium by transesophageal echocardiography, and there were no issues weaning from cardiopulmonary bypass, we decided that no surgical intervention was necessary. Transthoracic echocardiography and computed tomography showed the remaining dissection on postoperative day 7, however on postoperative day 14, it had completely disappeared.