Project description:Endovascular repair has been introduced to decrease the morbidity and mortality associated with open surgical repair of aortic arch pathology. We illustrate total percutaneous transfemoral approach with a 3-vessel inner branch stent-graft to treat aortic arch aneurysm. (Level of Difficulty: Advanced.) Graphical abstract
Project description:BackgroundTotal arch replacement (TAR) with frozen elephant trunk (FET) was challenging in patients with prior thoracic endovascular aortic repair (TEVAR), for complicated arch pathology and anatomy. In this study, we aimed to present our experiences in TAR with FET after prior TEVAR, and compare the clinical outcomes between the aortic balloon occlusion technique and the conventional technique.MethodsBetween January 2016 and December 2019, 30 patients with prior TEVAR received TAR with FET in our hospital. The aortic balloon occlusion technique was applied in 9 patients, and the conventional technique in 21 patients. The median time interval from TEVAR to reoperation was 9 months (0-168 months). The indications for TAR with FET included retrograde type A aortic dissection, endoleak, arch false aneurysm and new ascending dissection.ResultsThe patients with the balloon occlusion technique had shorter cardiopulmonary bypass time than patients with the conventional technique (151.2±31.3 vs. 183.4±46.8 min, P=0.036). The aortic-clamp time was also shorter in the balloon occlusion group, but without significant difference. The hypothermia circulatory arrest duration was significantly decreased in the balloon occlusion group (5.7±4.1 vs. 21.6±7.5 min, P<0.001). The incidence of major adverse events was 13.3%, and the mortality was 6.7%. No significant differences in the incidence of major adverse events, and the mortality were noted between the two groups. Follow-up was available in 28 survivors. The mean follow-up time was 25.4±13.0 months. No late death, aortic reoperation and complications occurred during follow-up.ConclusionsTAR with FET was a safe and effective procedure in patients with prior TEVAR, with satisfactory early and late outcomes. The aortic balloon occlusion technique could be applied in these patients, and may provide some protective effects.
Project description:The gold-standard therapy for the treatment of aortic arch pathologies is conventional open surgery. Recently, total endovascular aortic arch replacement with branched stent-grafts has been introduced into clinical practice with the aim of reducing invasiveness especially in selected high-risk patients. The aim of this review is to describe the two most commonly used branched devices for endovascular arch stent-grafting: Nexus (Endospan, Herzlia, Israle) and RelayBranch (Terumo Aortic, Glasgow, United Kingdom). Nexus is a CE-certified off-the-shelf, single branch, double stent graft system. It consists of two different components: a main module for the aortic arch and the descending aorta with a side-branch for the brachiocephalic artery (BCA), and a curved module for the ascending aorta that lands into the sino-tubular junction and connects to the main module through a side-facing self-protecting sleeve. Nexus may be used in urgent-emergency cases and also in patients with only one suitable supra-aortic target vessel but, on the other hand, it makes cerebral blood flow dependent on one source vessel only. The RelayBranch Thoracic Stent-Graft System is a custom made, double branched endograft with a wide window on its superior portion to accommodate two inner tunnels for BCA and left common carotid artery connection; bilateral cervical accesses are generally used to advance guidewires for catheterization of the inner tunnels in a retrograde fashion. RelayBranch can be customized on every patient's specific anatomy and provides a double blood source for the brain, but it cannot be used in urgent-emergency conditions. Therefore, in order to optimize outcomes, the choice of the most appropriate device should be made considering pros and cons of each system and patient's anatomy by an experienced aortic team. In conclusion, total endovascular aortic arch exclusion is a promising reality in selected high-risk patients.
Project description:IntroductionThe frozen elephant trunk technique is a surgical procedure developed for concomitant repair of downstream descending thoracic aorta as a first stage operation for arch resections. Proximalization of the sutured anastomosis reduces technical difficulty of total arch replacement. In this procedure, an anastomosis is performed more proximally using a stent graft. Connect the head and neck vessels are created using in-situ fenestration method.Case presentationThis study presents the case of a 78-year-old woman with a large thoracic aortic arch aneurysm that was successfully treated with a modified frozen elephant trunk technique (open in situ fenestration). For this method, a hole was created in the neck branches (the left subclavian artery and left common carotid artery), and peripheral stent grafts were placed to simplify neck branch reconstruction. This minimized the risk of recurrent laryngeal nerve injury and bleeding and shortened the procedure time.ConclusionThe outcomes of this study showed a safe alternative total arch replacement procedure.
Project description:A 79-year-old woman was admitted with a large chronic dissecting ascending aortic aneurysm starting 5 mm distal to the ostia of the left coronary artery and ending immediately proximal to the innominate artery. A reverse extra-anatomic aortic arch debranching procedure was performed. During the same operative time, through a transapical approach, a thoracic stent graft was deployed with the proximal landing zone just distal to the coronary ostia and the distal landing zone excluding the origin of the left common carotid artery. The postoperative course was uneventful. Computed tomography at 12 months documented patent extra-anatomic aortic arch debranching and no evidence of endoleak.
Project description:An 80-year-old man with a chronic penetrating atherosclerotic ulcer was not a candidate for open surgical repair owing to the presence of diffuse vascular atherosclerosis and a deep ulcerative lesion originating at the level of the aortic arch concavity. No appropriate endovascular landing zone was present in arch zones 1 or 2. However, a totally endovascular branched arch repair involving transapical delivery of the three branches was successful.