Surgical Treatment of Native and Prosthetic Aortic Infection With Xenopericardial Tube Grafts

Abstract

The study sought to report our results of surgical treatment of native and prosthetic aortic infection with xenopericardial tube grafts from the ascending aorta to beyond the bifurcation. Within a 28-month period, 20 patients were treated with a bovine self-made pericardial tube graft to replace infected vascular grafts (after conventional surgical aortic replacement or endovascular stent graft implantation) or to treat a contaminated surgical site. An integrated standardized therapeutic concept was applied in all patients, consisting of complete removal of the infected prosthetic material, extensive debridement, and orthotopic vascular reconstruction with self-made tube grafts constructed from a bovine pericardial patch. Four patients died perioperatively (20%) due to sepsis, pulmonary failure, or sudden circulatory arrest. The mean follow-up was 18 months (first quartile 2, third quartile 17 months). Interval computed tomography scans revealed 100% freedom from proven aortic reinfection, but reinfection cannot be ruled out in 4 patients who died of unknown causes during follow-up or because of ongoing sepsis. Three patients required aortic reintervention for a suture-line aneurysm, for graft occlusion, and for the development of a neoaortointestinal fistulation, respectively. Patients with infectious aortic disease present in a frail state and the initial and the late mortality is substantial. Yet, surgical treatment of native and prosthetic aortic infection with xenopericardial tube grafts shows promising short-term results with regard to durability and freedom from reinfection in any aortic segment. Further studies are needed to learn of the long-term behavior of these grafts.