Hybrid approaches to repair of complex aortic aneurysmal disease.

With the endovascular revolution upon us, the management of aortic aneurysmal disease has changed dramatically. Since 1991, more than 100,000 aneurysms worldwide have been repaired using early-generation and current-generation standardized grafts and this has dramatically reduced the 30-day mortality rates associated with open aortic surgery. A new phenomenon has also arisen from this wonderful technology. The term hybrid means "of different origins" and hybrid approaches to vascular disease involve open and endovascular techniques to achieve a common goal, namely, to prevent death caused by aneurysmal rupture. This article reviews novel approaches to the repair of complex aortic aneurysms and provides several illustrative examples.