A Single-Center Experience With Total Percutaneous Implantation of a Low-Profile Thoracic Aortic Stent-Graft.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the safety and effectiveness of total percutaneous implantation of the Zenith Alpha Thoracic (ZTA) endograft in the treatment of diseases of the descending thoracic aorta. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A retrospective cohort study of 56 consecutive patients undergoing total percutaneous ZTA implantation between 2018 and 2020 was performed in a single center. Patients' demographics, clinical characteristics, anatomical parameters, operative details, device features, and postoperative outcomes were assessed. The primary endpoint was ongoing clinical success. A Cox regression model was used to determine the predictive factors of worse postoperative outcomes. RESULTS: Eighty-three ZTA endografts were implanted in 35 men and 21 women with a mean age of 69±11 years for the treatment of 26 degenerative aneurysms, 15 type B dissections, and 8 penetrating ulcers, among others. Primary technical success was 100%, with a 30-day ongoing clinical success rate of 94.6%. The 1-year ongoing clinical success rate was 91.1% (51 patients), and freedoms from all-cause mortality, type 1 and 3 endoleaks, and any unplanned reintervention were, respectively, 95.3%, 91.4%, and 88.2% at 1 year. During follow-up, there was one case of surgical conversion for an aorto-esophageal fistula. On the contrary, neither aneurysmal rupture nor significant aneurysmal expansion was recorded. Repair of ruptured thoracic aorta and a high ratio of sheath outer diameter to external iliac artery diameter were found to be independently associated with worse outcomes, with adjusted odds ratios of 4.4 [1.5-15.3] and 4.9 [1.1-23.9], respectively. CONCLUSION: The outcomes of total percutaneous implantation of ZTA endograft show excellent primary technical success and favorable midterm ongoing clinical success. Factors associated with worse outcomes include the repair of ruptured aorta and a high sheath to access vessel ratio.

Cervical Debranching: Regional versus General Anesthesia for Carotid-Subclavian Bypass. A Single Center Experience.

BACKGROUND: We report here the first cohort study comparing regional and general anaesthesia for left subclavian artery (LSA) revascularization. METHODS: A single-centre retrospective cohort study was performed, including all consecutive patients who underwent cervical debranching with carotid-subclavian bypass before aortic repair from February 2018 to May 2022. Patients were divided into 2 groups according to the type of anesthesia: Regional anesthesia (RA) versus general anesthesia (GA). Primary endpoints included the following: 1) technical success of RA and 2) neurological complications (NCs) (stroke and peripheral neurological lesions). Secondary endpoints included postoperative bleeding, wound complications, 30-day reintervention rate, and midterm events. RESULTS: Eighty-three patients were included in the study. The mean age was 64 years (interquartile range [IQR]:13.5) and 69% were male. Thirty-seven patients (44.5%) were performed under RA. Technical success of RA was 89.2%. Two minor strokes (2.4%) were observed in the GA group (P = 0.199). Peripheral neurological disorders occurred in 4 patients (4.8%) (RA group n = 1 (2.7%), GA group n = 3 (6.5%), P = 0.491). 30-day complication rate was 27.7% (n = 23, GA: n = 15 (32.6%), RA: n = 8 (21.6%), P = 0.266). 30-day reintervention rate was 14.5% (n = 12) ten bleeding complications (12%) (RA group n = 3 (8.1%), GA group n = 7 (15.2%), P = 0.323), and 2 seroma evacuations (2.4%) in the RA group. The incidence of superficial wound infections was n = 6 (7.2%) (RA group n = 2 (5.4%), GA group n = 4 (8.7%), P = 0.565). Median follow-up time was 22 months (IQR 22 min/max 1-44). CONCLUSIONS: In our cohort, RA for carotid subclavian bypass surgery proved to be a feasible and effective anesthetic procedure compared with GA.

Balloon-Assisted True Lumen Expansion and Fenestration of a Symptomatic, Triple-Barrel, Postdissection Thoracoabdominal Aneurysm with Collapsed True Lumen to Facilitate Endovascular Treatment with a t-Branch.

BACKGROUND: To present the challenging endovascular treatment of a symptomatic triple-barrel (3 lumens; 1 true and 2 false lumens) aortic dissection case. METHODS: A 43-year-old male was introduced with a symptomatic, 9 cm postchronic dissection thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysm with accompanying triple-barrel formation and true lumen collapse at the height of the distal thoracic aorta. The celiac axis and right renal artery were perfused from the true lumen, the left renal artery from the false lumen and the superior mesenteric artery from both lumens. Endovascular approach was decided due to the patient co-morbidities. Because of the collapsed true lumen, the aorta had to be preconditioned in order to facilitate the endovascular repair with a multibranched thoracoabdominal stent-graft. This was achieved through the dilation of the aortic true lumen with a 32 mm Coda balloon (COOK Medical, Bloomington, IN), then puncturing of the intimal flap in several places to create re-entries that were also dilated (first with a 12-mm noncompliant balloon and then with a compliant 32 mm Coda balloon), creating a single aortic lumen that could facilitate an endovascular repair with thoracic stent-grafts and an off-the-shelf multibranched endograft (t-Branch; COOK Medical). The patient was promptly discharged, and the 3-month follow-up CT-angiogram showed a satisfactory result with patent target vessels and only a small Type-IIb endoleak. CONCLUSIONS: Preconditioning of the aorta using this technique is a feasible and safe approach for the treatment of complex thoracoabdominal postdissection aortic aneurysms presenting with a true lumen collapse.

[Aortic Aneurysm: Fenestrated/Branched Endovascular Aortic Repair (EVAR) and Fenestrated/Branched Thoracic Endovascular Aortic Repair (TEVAR). Is Total Endovascular Repair Already Here?] / Aortenaneurysma: fenestrierte/gebranchte abdominale EVAR (fbEVAR) und fenestrierte/gebranchte thorakale EVAR (fbTEVAR). Ist die komplette endovaskuläre Therapie schon da?

Five years after the first endovascular aortic repair (EVAR), Park et al. reported the first implantation of a fenestrated endoprosthesis. In the meantime, advanced generations of new fenestrated and branched endografts evolved. Endografts for complex pathologies are either so-called "off-the-shelf" grafts with predetermined length, width, diameter and clock position of the branches and fenestrations, predetermined by the manufacturer, "custom-made" grafts which need to be sized and planned individually for patients with specific thoracoabdominal anatomy. Open aortic repair in the treatment of thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysm (TAAA) still remains challenging and is associated with high morbidity and mortality, even in the elective setting. The ongoing development of endovascular treatment modalities, such as fenestrated and branched endovascular aneurysm repair (F-EVAR, B-EVAR), enables less invasive procedures for more challenging aortic pathologies. In recent years, extensive endovascular treatment of the aortic arch to the thoracoabdominal segment has become more and more important, but its outcomes have not been completely evaluated. The aim of this is article is to provide an overview of the currently available endovascular treatment options for complex aortic aneurysms requiring extensive coverage from the aortic arch to the infrarenal aorta.

In vitro evaluation of the optimal degree of oversizing of thoracic endografts in prosthetic landing areas: a pilot study.

Objective: The optimal degree of proximal thoracic endograft oversizing when aiming for durable sealing in prosthetic grafts is unknown. The aim of the present study was to create an in vitro model for testing different oversized thoracic endografts in a reproducible and standardized manner and, subsequently, determine the optimal oversizing range when planning procedures with a proximal landing in prosthetic zones in the descending thoracic aorta or aortic arch. Methods: An in vitro model consisting of a fixed 24-mm polyethylene terephthalate (Dacron; DuPont) graft sutured proximally and distally to two specifically designed 40-mm rings, with four force sensing resistors attached at four equally distant positions and a USB camera attached proximally for photographic and video documentation was used for deployment of Zenith TX2 (Cook Medical Inc) dissection platform endografts with diameters between 24 and 36 mm. After deployment, ballooning with a 32-mm compliant balloon was performed to simulate real-life conditions. The assessment of oversizing included visual inspection, calculation of the valley areas created between the prosthetic wall and the stent graft fabric, distance between the stent graft peaks, the radial force exerted by the proximal sealing stent, and the pull-out force necessary for endograft extraction. Results: A total of 70 endografts were deployed with the oversizing ranging from 0% to 50%: 10 × 24 mm, 10 × 26 mm, 10 × 28 mm, 10 × 30 mm, 10 × 32 mm, 10 × 34 mm, and 10 × 36 mm. Two cases of infolding occurred with 50% oversizing. The valley areas increased from 8.79 ± 0.23 mm2 with 16.7% oversizing to 14.26 ± 0.45 mm2 with 50% oversizing (P < .001). A significant difference was found in the pull-out force required for endografts with <10% oversizing vs ≥10% oversizing (P < .001). The difference reached a plateau at ∼4 N with oversizing of >15%. The mean radial force of the proximal sealing stent was greater after remodeling with a compliant balloon (0.55 ± 0.02 N vs 0.60 ± 0.02 N after ballooning; P < .001). However, greater oversizing did not lead to an increase in the radial force exerted by the proximal sealing stent. Conclusions: The findings from the present study offer additional insight into the mechanics of oversized stent grafts in surgical grafts. In endografts with the Zenith stent design (TX2), oversizing of <16.7% resulted in reduced resistance to displacement forces, and oversizing of >50% was associated with major infolding in 20% of cases. Long-term in vitro and in vivo testing is required to understand how these mechanical properties affect the clinical outcomes of oversizing.