''Relining'' of thoracic aortic stent grafts for patients presenting with rupture/impending rupture

To report a series of patients following thoracic endovascular aortic repair (TEVAR) presenting with rupture, who were effectively treated with TEVAR relining.

Five patients who underwent repeat TEVAR in an urgent fashion were identified. Chart review was performed to identify demographics, device type, aneurysm characteristics, and postoperative course.

Mean time to relining procedure was 5.8 (range 2-10) years. All patients had ≥3 device components originally placed. Mean size of the original aneurysm was 7.2 cm (range 6.6-8). All patients underwent relining with proximal and distal extension with immediate technical success. At a mean follow-up of 1.3 years, there was no evidence of endoleak and no patients required repeat intervention.

Complete relining with proximal and distal extension was effective in treating patients presenting with rupture. These findings suggest that proximal and distal landing zones provided, relining should be considered the initial management strategy in patients s/p TEVAR re-presenting with rupture.