Alternative Approach for Cerebral Protection during Complex Aortic Arch and Redo Surgery.

Total arch replacement remains a very demanding surgical procedure. It can be associated with reasonable long-term outcomes but carries serious perioperative complications. Aortic arch surgery has progressed in recent years to a wider adoption of reproducible and reliable techniques. Conventional open, surgical aortic arch replacement is currently offered to the majority of patients, although hybrid and wholly endovascular techniques are gaining popularity. With regards to open arch replacement, the nuances of surgical technique, the mode of cannulation and the optimal cerebral protection protocols remain a matter of debate. We propose an alternative cannulation approach facilitated by the cooperation between cardiac and vascular surgeons. A three-way arterial cannulation including both carotid arteries and the femoral artery (or ascending aorta) is the key feature of this approach. A case series of complex patients is presented to show both the feasibility and relative safety of a standardised new approach with a 100% technical success rate and a 16% 30-day mortality. The three-way cannulation approach may have a role to play for complex and extensive procedures requiring prolonged cerebral protection. We believe that a shared skill set from cardiac and vascular specialists is essential for the safe management and successful outcomes using this adaptive technique.

Cardiac and Vascular Surgeons for the Treatment of Aortic Disease: A Successful Partnership for Decision-Making and Management of Complex Cases.

Traditionally, cardiac and vascular surgeons have been treating diseases of the aorta as individual specialists. Neither cardiac nor vascular surgeons have ever considered the aorta as a whole, which can be diseased throughout its length at the same time requiring a more thoughtful and different approach. Aortic dissection and aneurysmal disease may well benefit from a multidisciplinary approach. In the context of this review, we discuss examples of joint operating between cardiac and vascular surgeons that may well become a more routine approach in more units in the future.

Delayed repair of aortic dissection in sickle cell anaemia as a combined cardiac and vascular surgical approach.

We discuss a patient who presented with a type B aortic dissection with a retrograde progression in the context of sickle cell anaemia. Given the involvement of the superior mesenteric artery and concern for bowel ischaemia, a delayed approach was considered. Subsequently, a frozen elephant trunk was performed in the hybrid theatre with the back-up of the vascular surgeon for mesenteric protection. A technically demanding procedure followed by a prolonged and challenging postoperative course finally led to a successful outcome. We argue that the case presented is an example of how a close cooperation between professionals can offer additional options to treatment based on a mixture of skills and background to achieve the desired outcome.

New-generation stent grafts for endovascular management of thoracic pseudoaneurysms after aortic coarctation repair.

OBJECTIVE: Late thoracic aneurysms develop in 5% to 12% of patients having undergone open repair for coarctation of the aorta (CoA). We report our early results for thoracic endovascular aortic repair for pseudoaneurysms after CoA repair. METHODS: From 2008 to 2013, data regarding demographics, aneurysm morphology, procedure, and follow-up were collected prospectively on all patients treated for pseudoaneurysms after CoA repair. Retrospective analysis of identified patients was then performed. RESULTS: Thirteen patients (six men, seven women) were treated. Patients were a median age, 45 years (interquartile range (IQR), 39-56; range, 27-66 years, and the median time after CoA repair to aneurysm treatment was 34 years (IQR, 24-40 years). All patients had saccular pseudoaneurysms of the aortic arch, with a median aneurysm size of 4.1 cm (IQR, 3.4-5.1 cm). The left subclavian artery (LSCA) was involved in 10 patients and was occluded at presentation in three. Four patients had concurrent LSCA revascularization with carotid-subclavian bypass, one had aortic arch hybrid repair, and the LSCA was intentionally covered in two patients. Patients underwent thoracic endovascular aortic repair using the conformable TAG (6 of 13; W. L. Gore & Associates, Flagstaff, Ariz), Valiant device (4 of 13; Medtronic, Minneapolis, Minn), and a custom-made Relay endograft with LSCA scallop (4 of 13; Bolton Medical, Barcelona, Spain). Technical success was 100%, with satisfactory deployment of the stent grafts in all patients. There was no 30-day mortality, stroke, or paraplegia. Median follow-up was 15 months (IQR, 9-19 months; range, 1-67 months). Two type II endoleaks from an intercostal artery were managed conservatively, and one type Ib endoleak was treated successfully with distal stent extension. CONCLUSIONS: In this cohort, new-generation stent grafts have good early clinical and radiologic outcomes, avoiding the need for redo open surgery. Management of the LSCA can be tailored to individual patients with new stent graft technology. Long-term follow-up of these patients is crucial to understanding whether endovascular management of this cohort is acceptable.

Acute Complex Type A Dissection associated with peripheral malperfusion syndrome treated with a staged approach guided by lactate levels.

Acute type A aortic dissection can be complicated by visceral malperfusion and is associated with a significant surgical morbidity and mortality. We describe a case of successful management of a complex acute type A dissection with mesenteric and lower limb ischemia treated with endovascular thoracic stenting and femoro-femoral crossover bypass grafting followed by aortic arch repair. To accomplish this, we applied a staged therapeutic approach using serial lactate measurements to assess the adequacy of peripheral perfusion and metabolic status prior to surgical repair of the proximal dissection.

Use of a molding balloon to facilitate introduction of guiding catheters in fenestrated stent-graft procedures.

PURPOSE: To present a technique that addresses the problem of passing guiding catheters through a stent-graft fenestration and into the target orifice over the wire within the visceral vessel when the fenestration is remote from the top cap. TECHNIQUE: A compliant molding balloon is introduced into the main body of the stent-graft and inflated above the fenestration to fill the redundant space in the proximal stent-graft to prevent upward angulation and subsequent displacement of the wire from the target vessel when a less flexible catheter is passed. CONCLUSION: This technique is useful in cases with tortuous and complex anatomy and may reduce overall procedure times.