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Ten-Year Single-Center Experience With a Japanese Frozen Elephant Trunk Graft (FROZENIX) for Treating Thoracic Aortic
Akihiro Yoshitake1, Osamu Kinoshita1, Takayuki Gyoten1
1Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Saitama Medical University International Medical Center.
Background:
This study reports on a single center's experience over 10 years with the frozen elephant trunk (FET) technique and a Japanese prosthesis. FET outcomes were compared among groups according to aortic etiology, acute aortic dissection (AAD), chronic aortic dissection (CAD), and thoracic aortic aneurysm (TAA).
Methods And Results:
Between September 2014 and December 2023, 435 patients underwent total arch replacement using the FET technique for AAD, CAD, and TAA. The overall in-hospital mortality rate was 5.1% (13 patients with AAD, 3 with CAD, and 6 with TAA). Perioperative neurological deficits occurred in 5.8% of patients overall (13 patients with AAD, 2 with CAD, and 10 with TAA), and spinal cord injury occurred in 1.1% of patients overall (1 with AAD, 0 with CAD, and 4 with TAA). The respective overall 5- and 7-year survival rates were 88.8% and 83.8% for AAD, 69.2% and 67.4% for TAA, and 83.6% and 83.6% for CAD. The respective 5- and 7-year rates of freedom from distal thoracic aortic reintervention were 78.8% and 71.7% among AAD patients, and 93.7% and 93.7% among TAA patients, and 73.2% at 5 years among CAD patients.
Conclusions:
The FET technique using a Japanese prosthesis for thoracic aortic disease has acceptable perioperative and long-term outcomes. Close follow-up is required after FET implantation, especially after repair of AAD and CAD.
