Endovascular stent graft repair of aortic aneurysms.

ABSTRACT

Vascular surgeons are increasingly encountering older patients with large aneurysms associated with severe comorbid conditions. This situation can increase operative morbidity and elevate the mortality rate of aortic surgery over 60%. With some frequency many patients will represent a prohibitive risk for conventional graft replacement. The endoluminal treatment of 110 patients has proved to be feasible and may represent an alternative solution. One hundred six of the patients had an abdominal aortic aneurysm and in four patients, the thoracic aorta was involved. All of them underwent endoluminal repair for the aortic pathology using the combination of stents and grafts in aorto-aortic or aorto-iliac position, with straight, tapered, or bifurcated stent-graft devices. The results are as follows Initial success was 84% in aorto-aortic abdominal devices and 100% in aorto-aortic thoracic devices. In aorto-iliac devices, initial success was 75%. Late success rates were 62% of the initial group and 80% of the initially successful group.