Total aortic arch replacement with frozen elephant trunk technique: Results from two European institutes

We report on a large series of patients treated at the S. Orsola Hospital, University of Bologna (Bologna, Italy) and Hannover Medical School (Hannover, Germany), with the aim to evaluate the early and midterm results.

Between January 2007 and March 2017, 437 patients underwent total aortic arch replacement with the frozen elephant trunk technique. The frozen elephant trunk prostheses used were the custom-made Chavan-Haverich (Hanover, Germany) (n = 27, 6%), Jotec E-vita open (Jotec Inc, Hechingen, Germany) (n = 192, 44%), and Vascutek Thoraflex-Hybrid (Vascutek, Inchinnan, Scotland) (n = 218, 50%). The main indications were thoracic aortic aneurysm (n = 135, 31%), chronic aortic dissection (n = 182, 41.6%), and acute aortic dissection (n = 120, 27.5%).

Overall in-hospital mortality was 14.9%, and permanent neurologic deficit and spinal cord injury were 10.8% and 5.5%, respectively. Patients with chronic aortic dissection presented a better in-hospital mortality rate than the thoracic aortic aneurysm and acute aortic dissection groups. Independent risk factors for mortality in the overall population were prolonged cardiopulmonary bypass time, age, urgent/emergency surgery, and Marfan syndrome. The median (p25, p75) follow-up time was 2.6 (1.4-4.4) years, and the mortality rate was 7.01 (95% confidence interval, 5.7-8.7) per 100 patient-years. A total of 86 patients (23.1%) required an additional procedure during the follow-up; 61 (16.3%) required endovascular extensions, and 25 (6.7%) required aortic surgery.

The frozen elephant trunk technique is a treatment option for all complex pathologies of the thoracic aorta. Patients with thoracic aortic aneurysms presented a higher mortality rate, and in patients with acute aortic dissection, the malperfusion syndrome still remains a catastrophic complication. The midterm follow-up showed satisfactory results in terms of survival and freedom from reintervention.