scholarly journals A Case Report: Is the Lack of Sufficient Radial Force Unfreezing the “Frozen Elephant Trunk”?

2021 ◽  
pp. 152660282110319
Author(s):  
Tugce Öz ◽  
Carlota F. Prendes ◽  
Jan Stana ◽  
Nikolaos Konstantinou ◽  
Maximillian Pichlmaier ◽  
...  

The “frozen elephant trunk” is a hybrid technique to treat aortic arch and proximal descending aortic pathologies in a single step. Despite its encouraging early and long-term results, some stent-graft-related adverse events have been reported. Here, we describe a possible treatment option to “re-freeze” the FET in case of loss of landing zone. We report a patient who developed significant kinking of the FET over the course of the first 2 postoperative years. The 1-year follow-up computed tomography angiography (CTA) showed significant kinking and proximal migration of the endograft portion of the FET, resulting in new thrombus formation. Due to kinking and thrombus progression in subsequent CTA follow-ups (2 years and 2½ years) with risk for peripheral embolization, a secondary endovascular repair was indicated. Transfemoral relining of the stent component with a thoracic aortic endovascular repair (Zenith®TX2®30142) stent-graft was performed. In the context of postoperative aneurysm sac shrinkage, the low radial force and lack of longitudinal stiffness of the hybrid graft may lead to proximal migration, thus secondary kinking, emphasizing the importance of an adequate degree of oversizing of the primary graft and an appropriate follow-up. Selection of a suitable graft for a particular pathology concerning the radial force and longitudinal stiffness is furthermore important.

2016 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 277-280 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Sebastian Debus ◽  
Tilo Kölbel ◽  
Sabine Wipper ◽  
Holger Diener ◽  
Beate Reiter ◽  
...  

Purpose: To describe a hybrid technique of reversed frozen elephant trunk to treat thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysms (TAAA) through an abdominal only approach. Technique: The technique is demonstrated in a 29-year-old Marfan patient with a chronic type B aortic dissection previously treated with a thoracic stent-graft who presented with a thoracoabdominal false lumen aneurysm. Through an open distal retroperitoneal approach to the abdominal aorta, a frozen elephant trunk graft was implanted over a super-stiff wire upside down with the stent-graft component in the thoracic aorta. Following deployment of the stent-graft proximally and preservation of renovisceral perfusion in a retrograde manner, the renovisceral vessels were sequentially anastomosed to the elephant trunk graft branches, thus reducing the ischemia time of the end organs. The aortic sac was then opened, and the distal part of the hybrid graft was anastomosed with a further bifurcated graft to the iliac vessels. Conclusion: The reversed frozen elephant trunk technique is feasible for hybrid treatment of TAAAs via an abdominal approach only. This has the benefit of substantially reducing the trauma of thoracic exposure, thus preserving major benefits of open thoracoabdominal surgery, such as the presence of short bypasses to the renovisceral vessels and reimplantation of lumbar arteries to reduce spinal cord ischemia.


2019 ◽  
Vol 56 (2) ◽  
pp. 307-312
Author(s):  
Daisuke Kaneyuki ◽  
Toshihisa Asakura ◽  
Atsushi Iguchi ◽  
Akihiro Yoshitake ◽  
Chiho Tokunaga ◽  
...  

Abstract OBJECTIVES Endovascular repair has been proposed as an alternative to classical surgical repair for the management of blunt traumatic thoracic aortic injury. However, the long-term outcomes of endovascular repair and the risks of left subclavian coverage remain unclear. METHODS From April 2001 to August 2018, 33 patients with blunt traumatic thoracic aortic injury underwent endovascular repair in our institution. A follow-up computed tomography and a clinical examination were performed before discharge and at 1 month, and yearly or every 2 years thereafter. RESULTS The mean age was 45 ± 19 years. The technical success rate was 100%. Complete coverage of the left subclavian artery (LSCA) was performed in 20 patients (60.6%). Among 20 patients with coverage of the LSCA, revascularization was performed in 1 patient. No in-hospital deaths occurred. The clinical follow-up rate was 97%, with a mean period of 7 years and a maximum of 18 years. The survival rates were 100% at 1 year, 95% at 5 years and 88.7% at 10 years after the event. Among the 5 patients (20%) who developed neurological complications, 1 who had undergone implantation of a 200-mm long stent graft and LSCA coverage without revascularization developed paraplegia during the long-term follow-up. CONCLUSIONS This study demonstrates that the endovascular treatment of blunt traumatic thoracic aortic injury is a safe and effective therapeutic method over a long-term follow-up period. LSCA coverage and long stent graft placement might be indications for revascularization to prevent spinal cord injury.


2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (5) ◽  
pp. 732-738 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yaojun Dun ◽  
Yi Shi ◽  
Hongwei Guo ◽  
Yanxiang Liu ◽  
Bowen Zhang ◽  
...  

Abstract OBJECTIVES Our goal was to review the surgical treatment of retrograde type A aortic dissection (RTAD) after thoracic endovascular aortic repair (TEVAR) in our centre. METHODS From January 2014 to April 2018, 22 patients with RTAD after TEVAR were operated on in our centre. The mean age at operation was 52.0 ± 8.0 years old. The median interval between the primary TEVAR procedure and RTAD was 4.6 months (range 0–120 months). The postoperative mortality and morbidity rates were calculated to evaluate the early and long-term results. RESULTS Twenty patients received total arch replacement with the frozen elephant trunk technique and 2 patients received total arch replacement alone. The mean cardiopulmonary bypass time, aortic cross-clamp time and selective cerebral perfusion time were 172.4 ± 39.3, 100.1 ± 30.3 and 19.7 ± 10.5 min, respectively. The incidence of major adverse events was 18.6% (4/22), including stroke in 1 patient, myocardial dysfunction in 1 patient and renal failure necessitating dialysis in 3 patients. Death within 30 days was 13.6% (3/22 patients). The follow-up data were available for all 19 survivors. The mean follow-up period was 32.2 ± 16.2 months (range 10–62 months). No deaths or aortic-related events occurred during the follow-up period. CONCLUSIONS Total arch replacement with or without the frozen elephant trunk technique was suitable for the management of RTAD after TEVAR, with acceptable early and long-term results.


2018 ◽  
Vol 67 (05) ◽  
pp. 385-392 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mario Lescan ◽  
Mateja Andic ◽  
Tobias Krüger ◽  
Vedran Ivosevic ◽  
Christian Schlensak

Background Ascending aorta or hemi-arch repair are common in the acute phase of type A dissection. Postdissection aneurysms can develop with antegrade perfusion of the false lumen in the dissected aortic arch and require reoperation. Methods From 2012 to 2018, we reoperated nine patients with postdissection aneurysms using a hybrid technique without cardiopulmonary bypass. The patients had a EuroSCORE II of 13% and a logistic EuroSCORE I of 45% and were not candidates for frozen elephant trunk surgery. The median interval since the acute ascending repair was 184 (92; 528) days. All patients were treated by median resternotomy, ascending to carotid bypass on a partially clamped ascending graft, and transfemoral endovascular repair with a Relay NBS (nonbare stent) or conformable Gore C-TAG stent graft. Results Technical success was achieved in all cases. Mean follow-up was 405 (220; 672) days. There was no disabling stroke, endoleak, paraplegia, in-hospital, or late mortality. In all patients, the false lumen was completely thrombosed at the aortic arch level with a median aneurysm shrinkage of 13 mm in the distal arch. There was no bird beak or stent graft migration. Distal stent-induced new entry was observed in one case. Reinterventions were not necessary due to diameter stability. Conclusion Complete debranching with transfemoral thoracic endovascular aneurysm repair showed encouraging results in patients with relevant comorbidities. The used stent grafts performed well in the mid-term follow-up period with no endoleaks or migration.


2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Omar Abdel-Hadi ◽  
John Thomson ◽  
Simon J. McPherson

Abstract Purpose To report the technical details and outcomes of the endovascular repair of two cases of de novo post-stenotic aortic coarctation aneurysms complicated by complex collateral supply. Case presentations Two patients with thoracic aortic aneurysms complicated by complex aneurysm sac collaterals distal to a previously untreated thoracic aortic coarctation have been treated at our institution. Open surgical intervention was deemed to carry a high risk of haemorrhage due to the degree and complexity of arterial collateralisation. In the first case, selective embolisation of collateral vasculature was performed prior to successful exclusion of the aneurysm with a thoracic endovascular stent-graft and then balloon-expandable stent dilatation of the coarctation stenosis. In the second case, the additional technique of using a jailed sheath within the aneurysm sac allowed for selective embolisation of previously inconspicuous collaterals after deployment of the stent-graft and stent combination. Results Technical success was achieved in both patients with successful occlusion of the aneurysm, with no recorded complications or aneurysm sac perfusion in the long and medium term follow up periods respectively. Conclusion De novo post stenotic aortic coarctation aneurysms are rare. Endovascular repair is a safe and durable technique that provides a less invasive alternative to open surgical repair. The use of a jailed sheath allows for complete selective embolisation of complex collaterals avoiding a type II aneurysm endoleak.


Author(s):  
Joseph Nader ◽  
Yuthiline Chabry ◽  
Houda Nazih ◽  
Thierry Caus

Abstract Infections of frozen elephant trunk hybrid prosthesis (HP) are not well documented in the literature and their management is not standardized yet. We report herein the case of a 59-year-old patient who benefited from a Thoraflex™ HP aortic arch replacement for an acute type A aortic dissection. He presented a year later with a Staphylococcus aureus infection of the proximal part of this prosthesis. We performed a replacement of the proximal compound of the HP accompanied by a complete debranching of the 3 supra-aortic vessels with an inter-carotidal retro-oesophageal bypass. As we left in situ the endovascular graft within the descending aorta, a life-long antibiotic therapy was introduced. The postoperative follow-up was uneventful, and the patient discharged home 2 weeks after his surgery. As an alternative to a more radical redo surgery with major risk, a hybrid medical and surgical treatment of infected frozen elephant trunk could be considered.


Vascular ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 170853812098369
Author(s):  
Stefano Fazzini ◽  
Giovanni Torsello ◽  
Martin Austermann ◽  
Efthymios Beropoulis ◽  
Roberta Munaò ◽  
...  

Objectives The results of branched endovascular repair of thoracoabdominal aneurysms are mainly dependent on durability of the graft used. The purpose of this study was to evaluate postoperative aortic main body and bridging stent-graft remodeling, and their impact on bridging stent-graft instability at one year. Methods Computed tomoangiographies of 43 patients (43 aortic main body mated with 171 bridging stent-grafts) were analyzed before and after branched endovascular repair as well as after a follow-up of 12 months. Primary endpoint was aortic main body remodeling (migration >5 mm, shortening >5 mm, scoliosis >5° or lordosis >5°). Shortening was defined as a reduced length in the long axis, scoliosis as left-right curvature, and lordosis as antero-posterior curvature. Aortic main body remodeling, aneurysm sac changes, and bridging stent-graft tortuosity were evaluated to study their correlations and the impact on the bridging stent-graft instability. Results At 12 months, aortic main body remodeling was observed in 72% of the cases, migration in 39.5% (mean 5.21 mm), shortening in 41.9% (mean 5.79 mm), scoliosis in 58.1%, (mean 10.10°), lordosis in 44.2% (mean 5.78°). Migration, shortening, and scoliosis were more frequent in patients with larger aneurysms ( p = .005), while scoliosis was significantly more frequent in type II thoracoabdominal aneurysm ( p = .019). Aortic main body remodeling was significantly associated to bridging stent-graft remodeling (r: 0.3–0.48). The bridging stent-graft instability rate was 9.3%. Despite a trend toward significance ( p = .07), none of the evaluated aortic main body and bridging stent-graft changes were associated with bridging stent-graft instability at 12 months. Conclusions Aortic main body remodeling is frequent especially in large and extended thoracoabdominal aneurysm aneurysms. Aortic main body and bridging stent-graft remodeling was significantly correlated. While these geometric changes had no significant impact on bridging stent-graft instability at one year, a close long-term follow-up after branched endovascular repair could predict bridging stent-graft failures.


Author(s):  
Markus Liebrich ◽  
Efstratios I Charitos ◽  
Sebastian Schlereth ◽  
Helfried Meißner ◽  
Tobias Trabold ◽  
...  

Abstract OBJECTIVES The goal of this study was to investigate the association between the localization of the distal anastomosis (zone 2/3), the stent graft length (100–160 mm), the position of the distal end of the hybrid prosthesis and the need for secondary aortic intervention (SAI) in acute and chronic thoracic aortic disease after the frozen elephant trunk procedure. METHODS From 2009 through 2020, a total of 232 patients (137 men; mean age, 61.7 ± 13.8 years) were treated with the frozen elephant trunk procedure. The main indications were acute aortic dissection type A (n = 106, 46%), chronic aortic dissection type A (n = 52, 22%) and degenerative thoracic aortic aneurysm (n = 74, 32%). RESULTS The rate of SAI was significantly higher when we performed a distal anastomosis in zone 2 rather than in zone 3, whereas the rate of SAI was less frequent if the distal positioning of the hybrid prosthesis was below TH 4–5. Combining the zone 2 concept and the short stent graft length (100 mm) was associated with a significantly higher rate of SAIs. Patients with a distal anastomosis in zone 2 were significantly less likely to have a recurrent laryngeal nerve injury (P < 0.001). However, no association between a specific arch zone of a distal anastomosis and the occurrence of spinal cord injury was observed. CONCLUSIONS Rates of SAIs are highest in patients who were treated with a distal anastomosis in zone 2 and a short stent graft (100 mm) with the distal end of the hybrid prosthesis at vertebral level TH 2–3.


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