Modular systems in the treatment of abdominal aortic aneurysms: lessons learned in the development of designer endografts.

: Treatment of abdominal aortic aneurysms with endoluminal stent-grafts is gaining increased interest. Since the original home-made stent-graft was developed in 1991, a multitude of devices have been developed for this treatment. Modular endografts have evolved during this time and offer several significant advantages. Thorough preoperative imaging and assessment is critical to the success of this new therapy for abdominal aortic aneurysms. Lessons learned during the development of the Medtronic AneuRx endograft and its early clinical trials are discussed.