The history of surgery of the thoracic aorta

Until the late 19th century, treatment of thoracic aortic aneurysms relied on ligation of the parent vessel or introduction of foreign materials to promote coagulation or fibrosis. A major breakthrough occurred in 1888, when Rudolph Matas reported an internal repair technique known as endoaneurysmorrhaphy. In this approach, the clot was excised from the aneurysmal sac, and the orifices of the arteries that entered the sac were sutured from within, reestablishing continuous blood flow. At the beginning of the 20th century, Alexis Carrel and Charles Guthrie began to lay the foundation for modern vascular anastomotic techniques. Although isolated successes were reported, optimal treatment of thoracic aortic disease awaited the development of reliable synthetic grafts in the 1950s and 1960s. During the past 15 years, the treatment goal has reverted to endoaneurysmorrhaphy, involving the use of a suitable graft to restore aortic continuity.