Endovascular repair of thoracic and abdominal aortic aneurysms: pre- and postprocedural imaging

Endovascular repair of thoracic and abdominal aortic aneurysms is a safe alternative to conventional open surgical repair. Clinical success, however, is highly dependent on patient selection. Diagnostic vascular imaging has an essential role for this selection process. Following endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR), patients require long-term surveillance and again vascular imaging serves an integral function. This article reviews EVAR selection criteria and post-EVAR assessment and then discusses the imaging modalities used to evaluate these patients, namely multi-detector-row computed tomographic angiography, magnetic resonance imaging/angiography, duplex ultrasonography, and catheter angiography.     

Endovascular treatment of endoleaks after endovascular abdominal aortic aneurysm repair: personal experience

PURPOSE: This paper describes the different endovascular treatments (cuffs, endografts and embolisation) available for types I, II and III endoleaks occurring after endovascular abdominal aortic aneurysm repair (EVAR). MATERIALS AND METHODS: From January 2000 to June 2006, 134 patients (118 men, 16 women; mean age 75.1 years) underwent EVAR. Ten patients (7%) developed significant endoleaks requiring endovascular treatment. RESULTS: Five endoleaks were type I, two were type II and three were type III. Of the five type I endoleaks, four were proximal and one was distal. The proximal endoleaks were treated by cuff deployment, whereas the distal endoleak was treated with a bifurcated graft. Of the two patients with type II endoleak, one was treated by translumbar puncture and coil embolisation, and the other was treated by superselective embolisation of the lumbar feeding vessel with nonresorbable particles. Of the three patients with type III endoleak, two were treated by deploying an aortouniiliac endograft inside the bifurcated graft and the other by implanting a cuff to restore continuity between the graft body and the contralateral limb. Endovascular treatment was successful in 6/10 cases, whereas three cases required surgical conversion. One patient did not undergo surgery owing to poor general condition. CONCLUSIONS: The reported incidence of endoleaks after EVAR is 10%-20%. Significant endoleaks should be treated promptly. Endovascular treatment can be done with different techniques, but success in not constant due to adverse anatomical conditions and technical difficulties.     

胸、腹主动脉病变的血管内治疗

目的探讨胸、腹主动脉病变不同血管内治疗方法的临床疗效。方法7例患者,其中DebakeyⅢ型主动脉夹层5例(4例行一体式支架腔内隔绝术,1例行内膜瓣开窗术);DebakeyⅢ型主动脉夹层外院外科人造血管置换术后降主动脉假性动脉瘤形成1例(行一体式支架腔内隔绝术);肾动脉开口以下腹主动脉瘤1例(行分体式支架腔内隔绝术)。结果5例一体式支架腔内隔绝术均获成功,2例出现Ⅰ型内漏,1例经球囊扩张后内漏消失,1例30 min后内漏减少,未处理;1例内膜瓣开窗术后患者双下肢缺血症状消失;1例分体式支架腔内隔绝术后造影提示动脉瘤消失,无内漏发生。结论应用血管内支架移植物或内膜瓣开窗术治疗胸、腹主动脉病变安全有效,其中分体式支架的临床应用具有更好的前景。     

Endovascular stent-graft treatment of thoracic aortic syndromes: a 7-year experience

Thoracic aortic diseases (TAD) are relatively frequent conditions associated with high mortality. Recently, several reports have demonstrated the safety and efficacy of endovascular stent-graft (EVG) placement for TAD as an alternative to open surgery. We report our experience in management of thoracic aortic syndrome on 56 consecutive patients with TAD that underwent endovascular stent-graft repair. MDCT angiography was used in all patients to provide preprocedure evaluation and measurements. In particular it is necessary to evaluate the proximal and distal landing zones of the stent-graft. All EVGs in our series were placed successfully. Conversion to open surgery was never required. Six patients (10.7%) died early after the stent-graft deployment. During follow-up four more patients died. The endoleak rate was 16.7% (no. 10 pt). We did not observe any case of paraplegia. The present study shows the efficacy of EVG in the long-term follow-up, with an overall survival of 82.1%, which is comparable to that reported in recent studies. In conclusion this technique is emerging as an alternative approach in the treatment of TAD because this approach offers a less invasive therapeutic option to standard surgical techniques, even in patients who have associated diseases that make them poor surgical candidates.     

Technical and clinical success of infrarenal endovascular abdominal aortic aneurysm repair: A 10-year single-center experience

OBJECTIVE: The aim of our retrospective study was to review our single-center experience with aortic abdominal aneurysm (AAA) repair retrospectively. MATERIAL AND METHODS: From 1995 to 2005, 70 consecutive patients affected by AAA were treated by endovascular stent-graft repair. Mean follow-up was 23.9 months. Follow-up investigations were performed at 6 and 12 months and yearly thereafter. Five different stent-graft designs were compared to each other. Primary technical success (PTS), assisted primary technical success (APTS), primary clinical success (PCS) and secondary clinical success (SCS) were evaluated. RESULTS: All over PTS was achieved in 94.3%, APTS in 97.1%, PCS in 61.4%, APCS in 64.3% and SCS in 70%. There were 3 type I endoleaks, 25 type II endoleaks, 4 type III endoleaks, 8 limb problems, 5 conversions to open surgery, 10 aneurysm sac expansions and 14 device migrations. Patients with newer generation devices showed better results than patients with first generation prosthesis. In addition results were better for grafts with suprarenal fixation (versus infrarenal fixation) and grafts with barbs and hooks (versus grafts without barbs and hooks). Patients with bad anatomic preconditions showed a higher complication rate. CONCLUSION: Contrary to first generation products, new stent-graft designs show acceptable technical and clinical results in endovascular AAA aneurysm repair. However, this therapy still should be reserved only for patients with significant comorbities and suitable anatomic conditions.     

Endovascular repair in traumatic thoracic aortic injuries: comparison with open surgical repair

PURPOSE: Thoracic endovascular aortic repair (TEVAR) has emerged as an alternative to open surgical repair (OSR) of traumatic thoracic aortic injury (TTAI). Herein immediate and midterm outcomes of TEVAR are compared with those of OSR. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Health records were used to identify patients with TTAI presenting between April 1995 and September 2006. Preoperative patient characteristics, intraoperative variables, procedural costs, and outcomes were recorded. RESULTS: A total of 103 patients were identified. Twenty-two died before treatment, 19 were treated conservatively, 36 received OSR, and 26 received TEVAR. In the OSR group, time from diagnosis to treatment was 8 hours, the 30-day mortality rate was 11.1%, and all deaths occurred intraoperatively. Thoracic nerve injury occurred in four patients (12.5%), pneumonia in 12 (37.5%), temporary renal failure in one (3%), paraparesis in three (9.4%), and paraplegia in five (15.6%). On follow-up (mean, 61 months), postthoracotomy pleural reaction was seen in three cases (9.4%). In the TEVAR group, time to treatment was 38 hours (P < .01) and the 30-day mortality rate was 7.4% with no intraoperative deaths. Pneumonia was seen in two cases (8.3%) and left arm ischemia was seen in two of 17 patients in whom the left subclavian artery was covered. On midterm follow-up (mean, 17 months), there were no graft failures or repeat aortic interventions. Costs of each procedure were initially comparable, but follow-up expenses with TEVAR were $1,284 (Canadian) greater per year. CONCLUSIONS: TEVAR of TTAI is associated with lower perioperative mortality and morbidity rates than OSR, with no significant graft-related complications on midterm follow-up. The study data support the continued use of TEVAR in this context.     

Endovascular repair of abdominal aortic aneurysm: helical CT findings]

Endovascular repair of infrarenal abdominal aortic aneurysms is currently widely diffuse. Imaging plays a major role in the preprocedural patient evaluation, implantation of stent-graft, and patient follow-up. The aim of this paper is to describe the more frequent findings that can be seen in CT examinations after endovascular repair of infrarenal abdominal aortic aneurysm. We discuss CT findings related to the aneurysm (size, exclusion with complete perigraft thrombosis, back-filling of aneurysm sac via branch vessels) and to the device (dislocation, rotation, kinking, device expansion, patency/thrombosis, device disruption). We also show some examples of incorrect assembly of the modular components of the stent-graft.     

Midterm follow-up of a single-center experience of endovascular repair of abdominal aortic aneurysms with use of the Talent stent-graft

PURPOSE: To review the midterm results of endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR) of abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAAs) with the Talent stent-graft. MATERIALS AND METHODS: All patients who underwent EVAR of AAAs with Talent stent-grafts from February 1998 to April 2002 at a single institution were monitored for a minimum of 2 years or until an endpoint of death or rupture was reached. RESULTS: There were 68 eligible patients, who were monitored for a mean period of 39 months (range, 24-72 months). Forty-nine (72.9%) were alive at 2 years; among the 19 deaths, two resulted from aneurysm rupture and the other 17 were unrelated to EVAR. There was one immediate conversion to open repair and five primary proximal endoleaks; the remaining 62 patients (91.2%) all had a technically successful procedure. There were 33 endoleaks during follow-up: 23 (69.7%) were treated conservatively and 10 (30.3%) underwent secondary intervention in the form of embolization (n=2), attempted embolization (n=2), endovascular stent-graft placement (n=3), combined stent-graft placement and embolization (n=1), or surgical conversion (n=2). Overall, there were five persistent endoleaks, and the remaining patients were free of endoleak at their last review or endpoint. Three stent-grafts migrated and required further endovascular intervention. Wire fracture was seen in two stents but presented no clinical sequelae. There was one case of graft limb thrombosis that required surgical thrombectomy. CONCLUSIONS: EVAR of AAAs with use of the Talent stent-graft is a promising and acceptable alternative to open surgery. Our 30-day mortality rate of zero compares extremely well with historical data from open surgery and the findings of more recently published trials. The risk of endoleak and uncertainty over durability require long-term surveillance.     

Case report: Endovascular repair of a ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm under local anaesthesia

Abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) is a common degenerative condition affecting the elderly population. Rupture carries a high overall mortality. Elective endovascular stent graft repair is well described. We describe a patient with ruptured AAA and co-morbid conditions making him unfit for surgery and general or epidural anaesthesia, who was successfully treated by endovascular stent graft under local anaesthesia.     

Endovascular treatment of thoracic aortic aneurysms: a review

Open surgical repair is considered the traditional treatment for patients with thoracic aortic aneurysms (TAA). In view of the persistent perioperative mobidity and mortality, endovascular stent-graft placement as a minimally invasive and potentially safer treatment for aneurysm of the descending aorta was introduced in 1992. Since then, progress has been made and several institutions have substantiated the safety and effectiveness of stent grafts in the repair of descending TAAs or type-B aortic dissections. Currently, both custom-designed, home-made, and commercially available stent grafts are used. Prior to placement of the endoprosthesis, three major prerequisites must be considered: the localization and morphology of the aneurysm; the distal vascular access of sufficient size; and a limited tortuosity of the abdominal and thoracic aorta. Although short-term results are encouraging, severe complications, including paraplegia, cerebral strokes, and aortic rupture, have been encountered. The long-term durability of currently available stent-graft systems is nonexistent and material fatigue are of major concern to both surgeons and radiologists. Nevertheless, endovascular stent-graft placement could become the procedure of choice in a substantial number of patients with descending TAA.     

Endovascular treatment of abdominal aortic aneurysms: 6 years of experience at a single centre

Purpose

We sought to assess the effectiveness of endovascular abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) repair (EVAR) through a retrospective review of 6 years’ experience at a single centre.

Materials and methods

From April 2005 to August 2011, 222 patients affected by abdominal aortic aneurysms underwent EVAR. We evaluated primary technical success, postprocedural mortality, intraprocedural and postprocedural complications with contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CT) and contrast-enhanced ultrasound (US) follow-up at 1, 6 and 12 months and annually thereafter.

Results

The procedures were elective in 75.7% and urgent due to symptomatic or ruptured aneurysm in 24.3%. Technical success was 98.6%; three patients (1.4%) required conversion to open surgery. Postoperative mortality rate was 24% for urgent and 2.3% for elective procedures. During a mean follow-up period of 29.6 months, no cases of stent-graft migration were observed; the overall incidence of endoleaks was 27% (60/222) and comprised four type I (1.8%) and one type III (0.45%), all treated by stent-graft extension, and 55 type 2 (24.8%), eight of which (14.5%) were treated by percutaneous injection of thrombin. In 10/222 cases (4.5%), thrombotic occlusion of the iliac extension was detected, which was successfully treated by transcatheter intra-arterial thrombolysis. One patient developed stent-graft infection requiring surgical explantation. Average hospital stay was 4 days, and average time in intensive care was 2 days.

Conclusions

Consistent with the literature data, our study confirms the safety and long-term efficacy of EVAR for treating AAA.     

腔内治疗复杂巨大腹主动脉瘤1例

病例资料 患者男,74岁,既往高血压、冠心病、不稳定型心绞痛10余年,口服药物病情控制良好.5年前在当地医院发现腹部搏动性包块,超声确诊为腹主动脉瘤,大小约12 cm×8.8 cm,当时无特殊不适,未进一步治疗.2014年6月患者因“左腰背部疼痛,呈酸胀感,站立活动时明显,伴有腹胀、深呼吸受限、纳差等症状”来我院就诊,收治入院并完善相关检查.CTA示:肾动脉开口以下巨大腹主动脉瘤并附壁血栓形成,大小约16.6 cm×13.2 cm,较前增大,瘤颈角约70°;双侧髂总动脉受累并扩张;双侧髂内动脉狭窄并附壁血栓形成;左侧髂外动脉严重迂曲、折叠;主动脉全程、双侧髂内外动脉管壁粥样硬化.     

Endovascular repair of ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm: feasibility and impact on early outcome

PURPOSE: Open repair of ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAAs) still has a high associated mortality rate. The impact of the introduction of endovascular treatment on the early outcomes of ruptured AAAs was examined at a single institution. The suitability of acute endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR) in patients with ruptured AAAs was also assessed. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Retrospective review was conducted in 39 consecutive patients treated for ruptured AAA from 2001 to 2004. The patients were divided into 15 who underwent open repair from 2001 to 2002 (group I) and 24 who were treated with open repair (n=13; 54%) or endovascular repair (n=11; 46%) from 2003 to 2004 (group II). Hospital charts and computed tomographic scans were reviewed to evaluate the feasibility of EVAR. RESULTS: Age, sex, and aneurysm size were similar between the two groups. The 30-day mortality rates were 53% in group I and 8% in group II (P=.003). Median procedure times were shorter in the patients who underwent EVAR. Intensive care unit stay and hospital stay were 22.0 days+/-29.6 and 29.7 days+/-33.8, respectively, in group I, and 5.6 days+/-4.4 and 16.1 days+/-10.9, respectively, in group II (P<.03). Eleven patients were found ineligible for EVAR as a result of an unsuitable neck (n=5) or iliac arteries (n=3) or both (n=3). No graft failure was detected during follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: After introduction of acute EVAR, a total of 46% of patients with ruptured AAAs were treated with the procedure. Potentially, 54% of patients could have been suitable for EVAR. Endovascular stent-graft implantation has significantly improved outcomes in ruptured AAAs and may therefore be beneficial in the overall treatment strategy in these patients.     

Endovascular treatment of abdominal aortic aneurysms: a review

Abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) is a relatively common disease among the elderly population and may be present in up to 5.9% of the population aged 80 years. Abdominal aortic aneurysm more than 5 cm in diameter are more prone to rupture, with a significant mortality rate. Conventional surgical treatment is quite effective in the lower surgical risk population; however, in the population with a higher risk level the mortality and morbidity significantly increase. The development of less invasive techniques to treat AAA derived from the necessity to reduce the morbidity and mortality. The development of the endovascular endoprostheses was a significant landmark in the management of those patients with AAA, particularly the ones with increased risk. Although the stent-graft technology is still in its infancy, a large amount of information is available and an attempt to summarize this experience is presented herein. An extensive review of the stent-graft technology is presented, including variations in design and classification of the several systems available. Technical aspects of the use of endovascular prostheses are presented, as well as the most recent outcome information available. The problems of endoleaks is discussed and the techniques for treatment and outcomes presented. Finally, a summary of specific information on most of the devices available is presented.     

Endovascular stent graft repair of abdominal aortic aneurysms: Current status and future directions

Endovascular stent graft repair of abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) has undergone rapid developments since it was introduced in the early 1990s. Two main types of aortic stent grafts have been developed and are currently being used in clinical practice to deal with patients with complicated or unsuitable aneurysm necks, namely, suprarenal and fenestrated stent grafts. Helical computed tomography angiography has been widely recognized as the method of choice for both pre-operative planning and post-operative follow-up of endovascular repair (EVAR). In addition to 2D axial images, a number of 2D and 3D reconstructions are generated to provide additional information about imaging of the stent grafts in relation to the aortic aneurysm diameter and extent, encroachment of stent wires to the renal artery ostium and position of the fenestrated vessel stents. The purpose of this article is to provide an overview of applications of EVAR of AAA and diagnostic applications of 2D and 3D image visualizations in the assessment of treatment outcomes of EVAR. Interference of stent wires with renal blood flow from the hemodynamic point of view will also be discussed, and future directions explored.