The aorta becomes an organ of the human body, like the heart, lung and liver. This is what is indicated in the new international guidelines developed by the European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery (Eacts) and the Society of Thoracic Surgeons (Sts), among the three main world societies of cardiothoracic surgery.
“This important document contains something new more than anything else. We all agreed in considering the aorta as a real organ, like the heart and the lungs: the twenty-fourth organ of the human body. From now on it must be considered this way, both in the context of diagnosis, treatment and follow-up”, explains Luca Di Marco, cardiac surgeon at the Sant’Orsola Polyclinic and researcher at the University of Bologna, among the specialists involved in drafting the guidelines. “In general – underlines Di Marco – the importance of establishing ‘aortic centres’ such as that of our polyclinic, capable of providing the entire spectrum of highly specialized care to patients, is emphasized in the document. Also in the context of algorithms for diagnosis and treatment, the need has emerged to refer patients to high-volume centers such as the IRCCS”. “The main challenge for the future – he added – is to focus more and more on prevention, with screening programs that allow for early diagnosis and early detection of the possible presence of an aortic aneurysm”.
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