Endovascular repair of ascending aortic dissection: a novel treatment option for patients judged unfit for direct surgical repair.

OBJECTIVES: This paper sought to report the outcomes of patients who are considered unfit for urgent surgical repair of ascending aortic dissections (AADs) who were treated using a novel endovascular repair strategy.
BACKGROUND: AAD is best treated by direct surgical repair. Patients who are unable to undergo this form of treatment have poor prognoses. Previously, clinical case reports related to endovascular repair of AAD have been controversial.
METHODS: Between May 2009 and January 2011, 41 consecutive patients with AAD were treated in our institution. Fifteen patients were considered poor candidates for direct surgical repair and subsequently underwent the endovascular repair.
RESULTS: The nature of the referral process to our tertiary care facility made the median time from aortic dissection onset to treatment 25.5 days (range: 6 to 353 days). Dissections in 5 patients (33.3%) were considered acute, and those in 10 patients (66.7%) were considered chronic. The rate of successful stent-graft deployment was 100%, and there were no major morbidities or deaths in the perioperative period. Median follow-up was 26 months (range: 16 to 35 months). One new dissection occurred in the aortic arch at 3 months and was treated with a branched endograft. Significant enlargements of true lumens and decreases of false lumens and overall thoracic aorta were noted after the procedures.
CONCLUSIONS: Endovascular repair of AAD was an appropriate treatment option in patients who were considered poor candidates for traditional direct surgical repair by the clinical criteria used in our institution. A larger series of cases with longer follow-up is needed to substantiate these results.