The transition from custom-made to standardized multibranched thoracoabdominal aortic stent grafts

The purpose of this study was to compare the branch morphology and short-term outcome of endovascular aneurysm repair using multibranched thoracoabdominal custom-made stent grafts (CSGs) vs standard stent grafts (SSGs).

Data on patient demographics, aortic morphology, component use, and outcome were collected prospectively. Final branch length (cuff to target artery orifice) and branch angle (cuff orientation to target artery orientation) were determined using 3-D reconstruction of computed tomographic angiograms (CTAs).

Between January 2008 and March 2010, 28 patients underwent endovascular aneurysm repair using 14 CSGs and 14 SSGs. Two patients were excluded from analysis: one patient in the CSG group had yet to undergo CTA, and one patient in the SSG group had crossed renal branches due to problems traversing a previously reconstructed aortic arch. All the stent grafts were implanted successfully. There were no perioperative deaths. There were no statistically significant differences between the CSG (n = 13) and SSG (n = 13) groups in terms of patient age (74.4 ± 7.9 years vs 73.5 ± 6.0 years), aneurysm diameter (66.1 ± 9.0 mm vs 71.2 ± 9.0 mm), operative time (311 ± 94 minutes vs 286 ± 57 minutes), fluoroscopy time (108 ± 43 minutes vs 101 ± 30 minutes), contrast volume (98 ± 39 minutes vs 91 ± 27 minutes), blood loss (458 ± 205 mL vs 433 ± 193 mL), mean branch angle (22.8 ± 19.0 degrees vs 22.0 ± 17.6 degrees), or branch length (25.3 ± 12.1 mm vs 23.4 ± 10.2 mm).

The substitution of SSG for CSG had no effect on the complexity of the procedure, the branch morphology, or the perioperative outcome. The availability of an off-the-shelf SSG will broaden the application of endovascular thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysm repair by eliminating manufacturing delays.