Volumetric analysis of type B aortic dissections treated with thoracic endovascular aortic repair

Type B aortic dissections are being successfully treated by thoracic endovascular aortic repair (TEVAR). Postoperative false lumen patency has been associated with aneurysmal dilatation and rupture of the thoracic aorta, necessitating further intervention. This is the first volumetric analysis of type B aortic dissections comparing patients with and without false lumen thrombosis (FLT) after TEVAR. We hypothesized that a greater increase in postoperative true lumen volume will lead to FLT, and without this change, false lumen patency will result.

Preoperative and postoperative computed tomography angiography (CTA) imaging was analyzed using three-dimensional reconstruction to measure the short- and long-axis diameter and cross-sectional area of the true lumen, false lumen, and total aorta. Measurements were taken at 5-cm intervals from the left subclavian artery to the aortic bifurcation. Pre- and postoperative volumetric data were calculated and compared in patients with and without postoperative FLT.

Between 2006 and 2010, 132 patients underwent thoracic aortic stent grafting. Of these, 31 (23%) had thoracic endografting for type B aortic dissection. Pre- and postoperative CTA images were available for analysis in 23 patients with a mean age of 59 ± 14 years treated for acute, complicated (n = 8, 35%), and chronic (n = 15, 65%) indications. Mean follow-up imaging was 9 months (range, 1-39 months). Thirteen patients (56%) had postoperative FLT and 10 (43%) had persistent false lumen patency. The dissections involved the left subclavian artery (n = 12), visceral arteries (n = 14), renal arteries (n = 16), and iliac arteries (n = 15). The left subclavian artery was intentionally covered in 15 patients (65%). There were no significant differences in age, acute vs chronic dissection, branch vessel involvement, coverage of the left subclavian artery, or distal extent of the endograft between patients with and without postoperative FLT. Patients with postoperative FLT had a significantly smaller preoperative maximum thoracic aortic diameter (5.05 ± 1.0 vs 6.30 ± 1.4 cm; P = .02). Volumetric analysis demonstrated significantly smaller preoperative true lumen volume (141.3 ± 68 vs 230.5 ± 92 cm(3); P = .01) in patients with FLT, but no difference in preoperative false lumen volume. Patients with FLT had a significant increase in the volume percentage of the true lumen from 42.7% to 61.7% (P = .02) after stent graft repair, compared with an increase from 46.7% to 47.7% (P = .75) in patients with persistent false lumen patency.

This volumetric study of type B aortic dissection treated with TEVAR suggests that the ability of the endograft to significantly increase the true lumen volume as a percent of the total aorta most accurately predicts postoperative FLT. This is best demonstrated in a nonaneurysmal dissection regardless of timing since dissection.