Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 15, 2026
Modified Octopus Technique for Thoracoabdominal Aortic Aneurysm
Published on: August 1, 2025
[Endovascular stent-graft exclusion of giant and long-segment thoracic aortic aneurysms]
Shen-ming Wang1, Guang-qi Chang, Zuo-jun Hu
1Department of Vascular Surgery, the First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510080, China. shenmingwang@sohu.com
Insights
Endovascular stent-graft repair using multiple connected grafts offers a safe and effective treatment for giant and long-segment thoracic aortic aneurysms. This minimally invasive approach shows promising early results in complex cases.
Area of Science:
- Vascular Surgery
- Interventional Cardiology
- Medical Device Technology
Context:
- Giant and long-segment thoracic aortic aneurysms present significant surgical challenges.
- Traditional open repair carries high morbidity and mortality.
- Endovascular techniques offer a less invasive alternative.
Purpose:
- To evaluate the feasibility and early outcomes of endovascular stent-graft exclusion for giant and long-segment thoracic aortic aneurysms.
- To assess the safety and efficacy of connecting multiple stent-grafts to create a continuous repair.
- To report on the technical aspects and immediate results of this approach.
Summary:
- Three male patients with giant and long-segment thoracic aortic aneurysms underwent successful endovascular repair using multiple, connected stent-grafts.
- One case involved a 28 cm aneurysm repaired with four stent-grafts.
- Preliminary bypass procedures were performed in two patients; one experienced transient cerebral ischemia that resolved.
- No significant endoleaks were observed at the stent-graft junctions in most cases, with one resolving spontaneously.
Impact:
- This study demonstrates that endovascular repair with connected stent-grafts is a viable, minimally invasive option for complex thoracic aortic aneurysms.
- The technique shows potential for reducing surgical risk in patients with otherwise untreatable conditions.
- Further long-term follow-up is necessary to confirm durability and late outcomes.
Objective:
To discuss the availability of endovascular stent-graft exclusion in giant and long-segment thoracic aortic aneurysms.
Methods:
Endovascular stent-graft exclusion was performed on 3 male patients with giant and long-segment thoracic aortic aneurysm. Multiple stent-grafts were connected as a long stent-graft to repair these thoracic aortic aneurysms, of which one with 28 cm in length and 7.3 cm in maximum diameter was excluded by 4 stent-grafts with different diameters and same length of 130 mm. The preliminary bypass between right common carotid artery and left common carotid artery or left common carotid artery and left subclavian artery was performed on 2 patients.
Results:
Three patients underwent the operation successfully, and achieved the good results. There was no endoleak at the conjunction of stent-grafts in 2 cases, and a little endoleak in 1 case, which disappeared 1 year after operation. One case presented temporal cerebral ischemia, which disappeared after 1 month.
Conclusions:
The endovascular deployment with multiple stent-grafts connection is a safe, mini-invasive and effective therapeutic method for giant and long-segment thoracic aortic aneurysm, but long-term outcomes will be gotten after the follow-up study.
