Yamasaki M, Yoshino H, Kunihara T, et al. - Researchers sought to determine the various pre- and postoperative complications that are linked with early (30-day) mortality after open surgery for acute type A aortic dissection. From the Tokyo Acute Aortic Super-network database spanning January 2015 to December 2017, they assessed data of 1,504 of 2,058 (73.0%) consecutive patients [age: 66.6 (SD: 13.5) years, male: 52.9%] who underwent acute type A aortic dissection repair. Findings revealed early mortality rate of 8.9% following surgical repair. Preoperative risk factors independently linked with early mortality were: male gender, use of percutaneous circulatory assist devices including extracorporeal membrane oxygenators or intra-aortic balloon pumps, shock, cardiopulmonary arrest, coronary ischemia and cerebral ischemia; while independent postoperative risk factors were cardiac tamponade, cerebral ischemia and mesenteric ischemia.