Use of the GORE Conformable Excluder Device in Highly Angulated Aortic Neck Anatomy: Mid-term Outcomes

Patients with complex aortic anatomy require meticulous surgical planning to optimize intraoperative and postoperative outcomes. The GORE Excluder Conformable Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Endoprosthesis (CEXC Device, WL Gore and Associates, Flagstaff, AZ) allows for endovascular treatment of highly angulated and short proximal neck abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA). Owing to its recent approval, short-term clinical outcomes of this device remain scarce.

In this report, we present a case series of 3 patients who underwent endovascular aortic repair using the GORE Excluder Conformable device with highly angulated (>70°) aortic neck anatomy. Endografts were deployed in a radiology suite using standard 2D angiography in conjunction with a CYDAR Medical (Wilmington, Delaware) reconstructed 3D overlay. The patients' ages were 85, 67, and 85 years. The mean abdominal aortic aneurysm diameter in these cases was 6.9 cm. The mean proximal neck length was 2.1 cm, proximal mean neck angulation was 83°. The mean operative time, total fluoroscopy time, and contrast used were 208 minutes, 28.3°minutes, and 94.5 milliliters, respectively. No adjunctive procedures, such as proximal cuff or endo-anchors, were performed at the time of index procedure.

Type Ia endoleak was observed in 1 patient post-operatively but after treatment with an aortic cuff there was no evidence of enlarging aneurysm sac. The GORE Excluder Conformable Endoprosthesis expands access to endovascular management of AAAs. Our early experience with this device demonstrated excellent patient and clinical outcomes in a highly angulated neck anatomy.