Standardized Off-the-Shelf Components for Multibranched Endovascular Repair of Thoracoabdominal Aortic Aneurysms

Abstract

Endovascular techniques have been slow to assume a primary role in the management of thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysms (TAAAs) because of the high cost of multiple components, regulatory challenges, manufacturing delays, and the complexity of multibranched stent graft insertion. Standardized off-the-shelf stent grafts have the potential to lower all these barriers to the widespread application of multibranched endovascular technology. Despite the desire for a single design to accommodate all variations of thoracoabdominal aneurysms, different approaches are likely required for patients with extensive aneurysmal disease compared with disease that is more localized to the infradiaphragmatic region or that which does not extend below the renals. This article summarizes the basic concepts and stent graft designs for repair of TAAA using off-the-shelf fenestrated and branched endografts.