A Giant Thoracic Aortic Aneurysm Treated by Frozen Elephant Trunk Technique

Abstract

The treatment of complex aortic pathologies involving the ascending aorta, the aortic arch, and the descending aorta continues to be a challenging situation in aortic surgery. The frozen elephant trunk technique has been increasingly used but there still is an ongoing discussion within the surgical community about the optimal indications. We present herein a patient with a complex aortic aneurysm involving all three segments of the thoracic aorta. The device used is a hybrid prosthesis consisting of a proximal woven polyester graft and a distal self-expanding nitinol stent graft, which can be delivered antegrade into the descending aorta.