Current options and recommendations for the treatment of thoracic aortic pathologies involving the aortic arch: an expert consensus document of the European Association for Cardio-Thoracic surgery (EACTS) and the European Society for Vascular Surgery (ESVS).
The treatment of descending thoracic aortic aneurysms with an endovascular approach is feasible and may, in some patients, offer the best means of therapy. Early complications were primarily related to device design and patient selection. All aneurysms without endoleaks decreased in size after treatment. Late complications were associated with changing aneurysm morphologic features and device migration. The morphologic changes remain somewhat unpredictable; however, alterations in device design may result in improved fixation and more durable aneurysm exclusion.
Uncomplicated AD can be safely treated with the Gore TAG device. Remodelling with thrombosis of the false lumen and reduction of its diameter is induced by the stent graft, but long term results are needed.
The implementation of new surgical techniques offers chances but carries risks. Usually, several years pass before a critical appraisal and a balanced opinion of a new treatment method are available and rely on the evidence from the literature and expert's opinion. The frozen elephant trunk (FET) technique has been increasingly used to treat complex pathologies of the aortic arch and the descending aorta, but there still is an ongoing discussion within the surgical community about the optimal indications. This paper represents a common effort of the Vascular Domain of EACTS together with several surgeons with particular expertise in aortic surgery, and summarizes the current knowledge and the state of the art about the FET technique. The majority of the information about the FET technique has been extracted from 97 focused publications already available in the PubMed database (cohort studies, case reports, reviews, small series, meta-analyses and best evidence topics) published in English.
The use of chimney grafts is feasible in the renal and superior mesenteric arteries, as well as in the supra-aortic branches, to facilitate stent-graft repair of thoracic or abdominal aortic lesions with inadequate fixation zones.
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