Aortic aneurysm sac pressure measurements after endovascular repair using an implantable remote sensor: initial experience and short-term follow-up.

The purpose of this single-center study was to report our initial experience with an implantable remote pressure sensor for aneurysm sac pressure measurement in patients post-endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR) including short-term follow-up. A pressure sensor (EndoSure, Atlanta, GA) was implanted in 12 patients treated with different commercially available aortic endografts for EVAR. Pressure was read pre- and post-EVAR in the operating room. One-month follow-up (30 days+/-6 days) was performed including sac pressure readings and IV contrast CT scans. Variables were compared using the paired Student's t test. An intraprocedure type-I endoleak and a type-III endoleak were successfully treated resulting in decreasing sac pressures. In all patients, post-EVAR systolic sac pressure decreased by an average of 33% (P <or= 0.005) compared to pre-EVAR measurements. One-month follow-up demonstrated a 47% decrease in systolic sac pressure (P <or= 0.05). On follow-up CT scans, the average maximum aneurysm diameter pre-EVAR was 6.3+/-1.6 cm and post-EVAR 6.0+/-1.7 cm (P<or=0.05). The diameter of the aneurysm sac was larger only in one patient with a type-III endoleak. Remote sac pressure measurement may provide important information in addition to imaging and may help to reduce the number of follow-up CT scans.