Results of Endovascular Repair of TAAA in the First 50 Patients

Background: Developments with fenestrated and branched stent grafts have opened the way to treat complex aortic aneurysms involving the visceral arteries. First reports on endovascular treatment of thoracoabdominal aneurysms have demonstrated the feasibility of the technique. Methods: A literature review and results of first 50 patients treated with a custom-made Zenith device with fixed branches are presented. Most of the patients were refused open surgery mainly for the extent of the disease combined with co-morbidity, which included in most patients a combination of several risk factors. Mean aneurysm size was 71 mm and extent of the aneurysm was type I (n=9), type II (n=13), type III (n=19), and type IV (n=9), respectively. Results: Primary and primary assisted technical successes in our series were 88% (44/50) and 92% (46/50), respectively. One patient died on day 1 from an intraoperative aneurysm rupture. In two patients a renal artery was lost, one due to rupture and one due to malpositioning of the bridging stent graft. In a fourth patient, a celiac artery could not be catheterised and was lost. Finally, in two more patients, catheterisation of in total three renal arteries proved impossible. This was solved by a retrograde approach for two renal arteries via laparotomy in one patient, and a spleno-renal bypass in the other patient. Thirty-day mortality was 8%. Estimated survival at 6 months, 1 year, and 2 years was 91.2%, 79.8%, and 69.7%, respectively. Freedom of reintervention of all kinds at 1 and 2 years was 81.9% and 73.7%, respectively. Conclusion: Results of fully endovascular repair of thoracoabdominal aneurysms in a high-risk cohort are promising. A learning curve should be expected. Although longer term results need to be awaited, it is likely that endovascular repair of thoracoabdominal aneurysms will become a preferential treatment option for many patients in the future