Hybrid and frozen elephant trunk for total arch replacement in DeBakey type I dissection

The study objective was to determine whether hybrid aortic repair yields superior outcomes compared with the conventional surgical approach for DeBakey type I aortic dissection.

A retrospective analysis of patients with DeBakey type I dissection admitted to Fuwai Hospital between January 2010 and December 2016 showed that 815 patients (86.9%) underwent open total arch replacement with frozen elephant trunk (frozen elephant trunk group) and 122 (13.1%) underwent hybrid aortic arch repair without deep hypothermic circulatory arrest (hybrid group). We selected 109 pairs of patients for propensity score matching. Outcomes included early postoperative death, a composite of complications, dissected aorta remodeling, long-term survival, and freedom from reoperation.

Early mortality and complication rates were lower in the hybrid group, but the difference was not statistically significant (9.2% vs 17.4%, P = .073; 15.6% vs 25.7%, P = .066). The rates of postoperative renal insufficiency was significantly lower in the hybrid group than in the frozen elephant trunk group (22.9% vs 38.5%, P = .013); liver insufficiency and paraplegia were significantly lower in the hybrid group than in the frozen elephant trunk group (20.2% vs 33.9%, P = .022; 0% vs 6.4%, P = .014). After matched, the 1-year, 3-year, and 5-year survivals were 87.6%, 86.3%, and 82.2%, respectively, in the hybrid group and 80.7%, 76.5%, and 74.6% (P = .071), respectively, in the frozen elephant trunk group.

Hybrid aortic arch repair is a viable alternative treatment for patients with DeBakey type I aortic dissection, which improves outcomes and promotes remodeling of the dissected thoracic aorta.