Laparoscopic ligation of Type II endoleaks following endovascular aneurysm repair: A systematic review

The clinical significance of Type II endoleak remains contentious; the strategies used for its management have continued to expand. We systematically review the literature and comprehensively appraise the effectiveness of laparoscopic intervention in the management of this common complication.

A systematic search was performed in accordance to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) guidelines on MEDLINE, EMBASE and Cochrane Library for relevant articles reporting laparoscopic surgery of Type II endoleak post-endovascular aortic repair.

Thirteen studies representing 40 patients were investigated. Mean age was 72.7 years, and proportion of males was 90.0%. All patients were American Society of Anesthesiologists grade II and above and underwent standard infrarenal endovascular aneurysm repair. The mean duration of operation was 130.2 min, with a mean blood loss across of 173.8 mL. The overall technical success rate was 90% (27/30). Two patients required reoperation within 24 h, with further lumbar ligations that were successful. One other patient required conversion to open surgery due to significant bleeding at the dorsal aorta. The perioperative and 30-day mortality rate was 2.5% (1/40). The mean length of hospital stay was 3.7 days (range 1 to 10 days). The mean length of follow-up was 36.7 months (range 3 to 103.2 months), where the rate of recurrence was 22.5% (9/40).

Laparoscopic ligation of feeding vessels causing Type II endoleak is potentially an alternative treatment after failed standard endovascular embolization, particularly in select centres with necessary resources and capabilities.