Elephant Trunk For Acute Type Research Articles

Why to be cautious with the use of the frozen elephant trunk in acute type A aortic dissection.

Already at the second meeting Aortic meeting in Bologna, I showed a slide confirming that type A dissection is a life-threatening disease with high rate of early mortality. What threatens the patients is blood in the pericardium causing tamponade. In Germany and The Netherlands patients are operated on within hours.

A Meta-Analysis of Total Arch Replacement With Frozen Elephant Trunk in Acute Type A Aortic Dissection.

To assess the safety and efficacy, we performed a meta-analysis of total arch replacement with frozen elephant trunk in exclusive acute type A (neither chronic nor type B) aortic dissection. Databases including MEDLINE and EMBASE were searched through March 2015 using Web-based search engines (PubMed and OVID). Eligible studies were case series of frozen elephant trunk enrolling patients with acute type A (neither chronic nor type B) aortic dissection reporting at least early (in-hospital or 30-day) all-cause mortality. Study-specific estimates were combined in both fixed- and random-effect models. Fifteen studies enrolling 1279 patients were identified and included. Pooled analyses demonstrated the cardiopulmonary bypass time of 207.1 (95% confidence interval [CI], 186.1-228.1) minutes, aortic cross-clamp time of 123.3 (95% CI, 113.1-133.5) minutes, selective antegrade cerebral perfusion time of 49.3 (95% CI, 37.6-61.0) minutes, hypothermic circulatory arrest time of 39.0 (95% CI, 30.7-47.2) minutes, early mortality of 9.2% (95% CI, 7.7-11.0%), stroke of 4.8% (95% CI, 2.5-9.0%), spinal cord injury of 3.5% (95% CI, 1.9-6.6%), mid- to long-term (≥1-year) overall mortality of 13.0% (95% CI, 10.4-16.0%), reintervention of 9.6% (95% CI, 5.6-15.8%), and false lumen thrombosis of 96.8% (95% CI, 90.7-98.9%). Total arch replacement with frozen elephant trunk provides a safe alternative to that with conventional elephant trunk in patients with acute type A aortic dissection, with acceptable early mortality and morbidity. The rates of mid- to long-term reintervention and false lumen non-thrombosis may be lower in patients undergoing the frozen than conventional elephant trunk procedure.

Total aortic arch replacement with frozen elephant trunk in acute type A aortic dissections: are we pushing the limits too far?†.

Acute type A aortic dissection (AADA) is a surgical emergency. In patients with aortic arch and descending aorta (DeBakey type I) involvement, performing a total aortic arch replacement with frozen elephant trunk (FET) for supposedly better long-term results is controversial. We hereby present our results. From February 2004 to August 2013, 52 patients with acute aortic dissection DeBakey type I received a FET procedure at our centre (43 males, age 59.21 ± 11.67 years). All patients had an intimal tear in the aortic arch and/or proximal descending aorta. Concomitant procedures were Bentall (n = 15) and aortic valve repair (n = 30). Cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB), X-clamp and cardiac arrest times were 262 ± 64, 159 ± 45 and 55 ± 24 min, respectively. The 30-day mortality rate was 13% (n = 7). Stroke and re-thoracotomy for bleeding were 12% (n = 6) and 23% (n = 12), respectively. Postoperative recurrent nerve palsy and spinal cord injury rates were 10% (5 of 52) and 4% (2 of 52), respectively. Follow-up was 40 ± 24 months. During follow-up, no patient died and no patient required a reoperation for the aortic arch. Our results with FET in AADA show acceptable results. Total aortic arch replacement with an FET in AADA patients does demand high technical skills. In spite of this, we believe FET improves long-term outcomes in cases of AADA with intima tear or re-entry in the aortic arch or the descending aorta (DeBakey type I). Modern grafts with four side branches as well as sewing collars for the distal anastomosis have helped to further 'simplify' the FET implantation. However, such a strategy is not appropriate in all AADA cases; it should be implemented only in experienced centres and only if absolutely necessary.

Frozen elephant trunk in acute type I dissection-a personal view.

The frozen elephant trunk technique (FET) has become an established surgical strategy to treat ascending, arch and descending aortic pathologies through median sternotomy. Over time, the indications elaborated for its application included acute and chronic dissections, as well as complex aneurysmal disease (1). There is no doubt that this surgical approach represents major surgery, particularly as it necessitates prolonged perfusion and ischemic times as well as extensive experience in arch surgery.