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Updated: Oct 11, 2025

Modified Octopus Technique for Thoracoabdominal Aortic Aneurysm
Published on: August 1, 2025
Physician-Modified Endograft With Inner Branches for the Treatment of Complex Aortic Urgencies
Jose Torrealba1, Giuseppe Panuccio1, Tilo Kölbel1
1German Aortic Center Hamburg, University Heart Center, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany.
Purpose:
To describe the use of physician-modified endograft (PMEG) with the exclusive use of inner branches or in combination with fenestrations for the urgent treatment of complex aortic aneurysms.
Technique:
We present two urgent cases. A patient with a 6.8 cm saccular juxtarenal aneurysm and another patient with a contained rupture of the thoracoabdominal aorta right above the celiac trunk (CT). In both cases, a Cook Zenith TX2 thoracic endograft was back-table modified, in the first case by adding three fenestrations and one inner branch for the left renal artery to improve sealing due to its partial involvement in the aneurysm and, in the second case, with the use of two inner branches for the CT and superior mesenteric artery. Both procedures were successful, with uneventful postoperative courses and complete aneurysm exclusion on postoperative CT angiography.
Conclusion:
Use of PMEGs with inner branches is feasible for urgent repair in complex aortic anatomy.
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