Technological Advances to Address the Challenging Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Neck

Abstract

There have been significant technologic advances in endovascular aortic therapies since the introduction of conventional infrarenal endovascular aortic aneurysm repair (EVAR). These advances have sought to address the weaknesses of conventional EVAR- particularly the difficult or “hostile” infrarenal aortic aneurysm neck. We review anatomical features that create a hostile neck and the most recent advancements to overcome these limitations. EndoAnchors replicate open suture fixation to seal endograft to aortic tissue and have been shown to be useful as a prophylactic measure in short, angulated necks as well as therapeutic for type Ia endoleaks. Fenestrated EVAR (FEVAR) devices such as the Z-fen (Cook Medical, Bloomington, IN, USA) raises the seal zone to the suprarenal segment while maintaining renal perfusion. Finally, multibranch aortic grafts such as the Thoracoabdominal Branch Endoprosthesis (Tambe; W. L. Gore & Associates, Flagstaff, AZ, USA) raise the seal zone above the visceral segment and can be used off the shelf with promising results.