Physician-Modified Endograft With Triple Inner Branches for Extensive Aortic Arch Aneurysm

Purpose: The purpose of this case report was to demonstrate the feasibility of a physician-modified endograft (PMEG) with 3 inner branches for extensive aortic arch aneurysm. Case Report: A 69-year-old male presented with extensive aortic arch aneurysm involving all supra-aortic vessels. An Ankura thoracic stent graft was modified with 3 inner branches fashioned of Viabahn endoprostheses. The procedure was technically successful, and the patient was discharged with no complications. Conclusion: This back-table modification of the off-the-shelf endograft is an especially attractive option for complex arch pathologies with urgency and deemed too high risk for reopen surgery.

A Rare Case of an Ascending Aorta and Aortic Arch Aneurysm with an Aberrant Right Common Carotid Artery

Ascending aortic aneurysms are asymptomatic and are usually discovered as an incidental finding on chest imaging. However, larger aneurysms can present with symptoms resulting from compression of surrounding structures including the trachea, bronchi, and the esophagus which can result in hoarseness, cough chest pain or back pain. The presence of an aortic arch anomaly, specifically an aberrant right common carotid artery, in a background of an aortic arch aneurysm is extremely rare with a worldwide incidence of <1%. They are usually asymptomatic but can result to catastrophic life threatening events and pose significant challenges to surgical or endovascular treatment. This is a case of a 63-year old Filipino male who presented with a sudden onset of dull back pain radiating to the left anterior chest. Workup revealed an ascending and aortic arch aneurysm with an aberrant right common carotid artery arising directly from the transverse aorta. Surgical aortic arch debranching was done to repair the aberrant vessels prior to Thoracic Endovascular Aortic Repair (TEVAR) wherein a custom-made Thoracic Valiant graft was deployed on the aneurysm. The patient was discharged on the 4th day after TEVAR without any complaints of dyspnea, back pain nor chest pain with no neurologic and visceral organ dysfunction. This case has emphasized that knowledge on the anatomy of the aortic arch is imperative in planning out thoracic surgery and endovascular interventions especially on rare anatomic anomalies such as seen in this case. Keywords aortic aneurysm, aberrant right common carotid artery, TEVAR