A surgical procedure in which the aorta is fractured or broken and then reset to correct a severe narrowing or abnormality.
From aorta (Greek aorē) combined with Greek klasis, meaning 'breaking' (from klan, 'to break'). This is a historical medical term from the early 20th century when such radical procedures were attempted before modern surgical techniques.
Aortoclasia was a desperate surgical gamble—doctors would intentionally break a patient's major artery to force it into a better position, hoping it would heal correctly. It's a fascinating example of how modern medicine replaced dangerous mechanical fixes with safer approaches like angioplasty.
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