Long-Term Volumetric Evaluation of Stent-Assisted Balloon-Induced Intimal Disruption and Relamination of Aortic...

To quantify the volumetric aortic remodeling of patients with acute type B aortic dissection treated with the stent-assisted balloon-induced intimal disruption and relamination (STABILISE) technique.

All patients with acute type B aortic dissection operated with the STABILISE technique between 2014 and 2017 with preoperative, postoperative, and >12 months (follow-up) computed tomography scans were included in this study. True lumen and total aortic volume were accurately assessed in the thoracic and abdominal portions with a semiautomatic three-dimensional tool. Associations with long-term adverse events were estimated.

Seventeen patients were measured at preoperative, postoperative, and a mean follow-up of 19 ± 8 months. The false lumen to total volume ratio decreased on average from 63% to 18% after STABILISE (P < 0.001) and remained around 12% at follow-up. These remodeling was more pronounced in the thoracic aorta (7%) than in the abdominal aorta (28%). The trend in aortic size growth was stronger for volumes than for maximum areas or diameters (P < 0.001, P < 0.05, and P < 0.05, respectively). Adverse events were identified in 4 patients during a long-term follow-up of 76 ± 18 months. The only aortic size variable assessed preoperatively that was associated with undesirable events was the total volume of the abdominal aorta (P < 0.05).

A volumetric analysis of dissected aortic size after the STABILISE procedure allowed accurate quantification of mid-term aortic remodeling and helped to identify the abdominal aortic volume as a preoperative variable associated with undesirable long-term events.