De-airing an open stent graft to potentially reduce spinal cord injury

We have occasionally observed a bubble leaving the suture line of an open stent graft; hence, we hypothesized that de-airing an open stent graft could potentially reduce spinal cord injury. Postoperative computed tomography often showed residual air in thoracic aortic aneurysms, confirmed by the presence of a certain amount of air in an open stent graft in a dry lab. We filled CO₂ in the sterilized package of an open stent graft and subsequently filled it with saline, which absorbed the CO₂ and entered into the gap of the graft. The clinical benefit of de-airing an open stent graft to reduce the incidence of spinal cord injury needs to be evaluated.