[Frozen Elephant Trunk Technique with Semi-circumferential Aortic Arch Incision for Distal Arch Aortic Aneurism...

An 82-year-old man was admitted to our hospital with chest pain as a chief complaint and diagnosed with a ruptured aortic aneurysm in the distal arch by contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CT). The patient underwent surgery using artificial heart-lung and selective cerebral extracorporeal circulation, and a semi-circumferential aortic arch incision was made around the anterior surface of the aortic arch. An open stent graft was inserted through the incision, trimmed to fit the size, and the aortic wall and the stent graft were fixed with 3-0 proline continuous sutures, and finally the incision was closed with 3-0 proline. This method was useful because it may shorten the operation time and decrease the amount of blood loss compared to the common aortic arch replacement with frozen elephant trunk.