Endoluminal repair of mycotic thoracic aneurysms.

Abstract

To report a series of endoluminally repaired mycotic thoracic aneurysms. Four patients with presumed mycotic aneurysms of the thoracic aorta were treated with endovascular grafts owing to overly high risk for open repair. All aneurysms were successfully excluded at the initial intervention. In one case, which required endograft fenestrations for the superior mesenteric and renal arteries, the patient died 53 days after the procedure, following graft migration and occlusion of major branch vessels. The other 3 patients remain alive and well at a mean follow-up of 16 months with no signs of ongoing sepsis. Endoluminal repair of thoracic mycotic aneurysms is technically feasible and, in association with long-term antibiotics, offers at least temporary protection against imminent rupture.