Purpose: To investigate the extent to which clinical status is affected by covering the left subclavian artery (LSA) with stent-grafts in the thoracic aorta. Methods: Stent-graft reconstruction of the thoracic aorta was performed in 23 patients (20 men; mean age 50.8 years, range 17–77) for management of rupture (n = 11), type B dissection (n = 9), or aneurysm (n = 3). All patients had bilaterally equal systolic and diastolic blood pressures (141.3 ± 19.8 and 78.9 ± 11.0 mmHg, respectively). Twenty Gore TAG and 1 Talent thoracic endografts were used; 2 cases required a combination of prostheses. In all patients, the stent-graft was intentionally placed to cover the LSA. Follow-up included clinical examination with blood pressure measurements and computed tomography during the first postoperative week and at 3-month intervals thereafter. Results: After coverage of the LSA by the stent-graft, systolic pressure fell by a mean 48.3 ± 23.4 mmHg. In 4 cases of proximal endoleak, however, systolic pressure fell by only 25.0 ± 15.0 mmHg. Twenty (78.5%) patients reported no complaints during a mean follow-up of 12.1 ± 7.3 months. Postinterventional complaints reported by 3 patients included exercise-dependent paresthesias; nonexercise-dependent, intermittent, and completely reversible dizziness; and a temperature difference between the upper extremities with no decrease in strength. Conclusions: Covering the LSA is generally well tolerated by patients and increases the landing zone for the placement of thoracic stent-grafts. Long-term studies, however, must investigate the hemodynamic effects of this procedure on the vertebrobasilar circulation.

The cause of a leakage can be determined with CT on the basis of its configuration and location in the majority of cases.

The treatment of acute traumatic descending aortic transection with an endovascular approach is feasible and safe and may offer the best means of therapy. Mortality and the risk of neurological deficit are low compared with open operations.

Documented renal infarctions following endovascular aortic stent-graft placement are not common and do not appear to be associated with suprarenal endograft fixation.

Prediction of endoleaks with absolute certainty remains elusive. The single correlating risk factor identified from the data was patency of four or more lumbar arteries visualized preoperatively at CT.

Vasculopathies involving the sciatic artery are uncommon but may be amenable to interventional techniques, such as coil embolization and stent implantation. PSA aneurysm exclusion with a stent-graft may represent a new therapeutic alternative to standard surgery that obviates potential sciatic nerve damage, but the durability of the repair remains to be determined.

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Stent-grafting is feasible in patients with type B aortic dissection, although it is associated with a considerable rate of complications. Frank reporting of these sequelae for a variety of stent-grafts is of paramount importance to clarifying the limitations of the method.