Endovascular Stent-Graft Treatment of Thoracic Aortic Disease

Aneurysmal diseases of the thoracic aorta are life-threatening conditions. In such cases, stent-graft treatment has been proposed as an alternative to surgery. The morbidity and mortality associated with endovascular repair are significantly lower than those associated with open surgery. In the largest surgical series, the mortality ranged from 5% to 20%. In studies of endovascular repair, the 30-day mortality was 0%–20% and the periprocedural stroke rate was 0%–7%. Often, open surgery is prohibited in patients with these high-risk lesions; thus, in many cases endovascular treatment is the only alternative. Thoracic aortic diseases that can be treated with endovascular stent-graft placement include aneurysms, dissection, traumatic rupture, traumatic pseudoaneurysms, intramural hematoma, penetrating atherosclerotic ulcers, and aortic rupture. Thorough preprocedure imaging is essential for selecting patients, choosing the stent-graft devices, and planning the intervention. Prerequisites for endovascular ste...