Technical aspects of repair of juxtarenal abdominal aortic aneurysms using the Zenith fenestrated endovascular stent graft.

Fenestrated endovascular aortic repair has been used with increasing frequency to treat complex aortic aneurysms. The Zenith fenestrated stent graft system (Cook Medical Inc, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia) was approved for commercial use in the United States in April 2012, offering a custom-made design with up to three fenestrations to treat short-neck infrarenal and juxtarenal abdominal aortic aneurysms. This report and the Video presentation (online only) summarize the preoperative planning, stent graft design, and technique of implantation of a Zenith fenestrated stent graft using a totally percutaneous approach in an 80-year-old female patient with a 6-cm juxtarenal abdominal aortic aneurysm. The patient was dismissed home the next day without complications, and a computed tomography angiography at 12 months showed no endoleak or stent graft complications.

The use of cryopreserved aortoiliac allograft for aortic reconstruction in the United States.

BACKGROUND: Aortic infections, even with treatment, have a high mortality and risk of recurrent infection and limb loss. Cryopreserved aortoiliac allograft (CAA) has been proposed for aortic reconstruction to improve outcomes in this high-risk population. METHODS: A multicenter study using a standardized database was performed at 14 of the 20 highest volume institutions that used CAA for aortic reconstruction in the setting of infection or those at high risk for prosthetic graft infection. RESULTS: Two hundred twenty patients (mean age, 65; male:female, 1.6/1) were treated since 2002 for culture positive aortic graft infection (60%), culture negative aortic graft infection (16%), enteric fistula/erosion (15%), infected pseudoaneurysm adjacent to the aortic graft (4%), and other (4%). Intraop cultures indicated infection in 66%. Distal anastomosis was to the femoral artery and iliac. Mean hospital length of stay was 24 days, and 30-day mortality was 9%. Complications occurred in 24% and included persistent sepsis (n = 17), CAA thrombosis (n = 9), CAA rupture (n = 8), recurrent CAA/aortic infection (n = 8), CAA pseudoaneurysm (n = 6), recurrence of aortoenteric fistula (n = 4), and compartment syndrome (n = 1). Patients with full graft excision had significantly better outcomes. Ten (5%) patients required allograft explant. Mean follow-up was 30 ± 3 months. Freedom from graft-related complications, graft explant, and limb loss was 80%, 88%, and 97%, respectively, at 5 years. Primary graft patency was 97% at 5 years, and patient survival was 75% at 1 year and 51% at 5 years. CONCLUSIONS: This largest study of CAA indicates that CAA allows aortic reconstruction in the setting of infection or those at high risk for infection with lower early and long-term morbidity and mortality than other previously reported treatment options. Repair with CAA is associated with low rates of aneurysm formation, recurrent infection, aortic blowout, and limb loss. We believe that CAA should be considered a first line treatment of aortic infections.

Preloaded guidewires to facilitate endovascular repair of thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysm using a physician-modified branched stent graft.

Branched stent grafts have been widely applied to treat complex aortic aneurysms. The technique often requires brachial or axillary approach to provide antegrade access to directional branches, which are bridged to target visceral arteries by self-expandable stent grafts. Preloaded guidewire catheterization may facilitate access into directional branches, decreasing or eliminating catheter manipulations required during this step of the procedure. We describe the use of a physician-modified branched stent graft using preloaded guidewire catheterization to treat a patient with recurrent, type III thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysm. The procedure was performed with no complications, and total operative time was 300 minutes, fluoroscopy time was 81 minutes, and iodinated contrast dose was 210 mL. Computed tomographic angiography revealed no endoleak and widely patent branches at 2 months.

Pelvic revascularization during endovascular aortic aneurysm repair.

Endovascular repair of aortic aneurysms (EVAR) has gained widespread acceptance in the treatment of abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAAs). Prospective studies have shown advantages compared with open surgical repair, including decreased blood loss, operating time, hospital stay, morbidity, and mortality. Approximately 30% of patients treated by EVAR have ectatic or aneurysmal common iliac arteries not suitable for distal sealing zones. In these patients, one of the most commonly utilized options is exclusion of the internal iliac artery (IIA). Decreased pelvic perfusion carries the risk of ischemic complications, including buttock claudication, sexual dysfunction, and other devastating complications such as spinal cord injury, ischemic colitis, and gluteal muscle necrosis. This article summarizes the methods of pelvic revascularization in patients with aortoiliac aneurysms involving one or both common iliac arteries.