An Initial Single-Center European Experience with the Gore Thoracic Branch Endoprosthesis

Area of Science:

• Vascular Surgery
• Interventional Cardiology
• Medical Device Technology

Background:

• Complex pathologies of the aortic arch and descending thoracic aorta present significant treatment challenges.
• Traditional open surgical repair carries high morbidity and mortality.
• Endovascular solutions are evolving to address these complex anatomies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the initial clinical experience with a novel off-the-shelf single branched thoracic aortic stent graft.
• To assess the feasibility and safety of the GORE Thoracic Branched Endoprosthesis (TBE) in preserving aortic arch vessels.
• To report outcomes in patients with diverse aortic arch and descending thoracic pathologies.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective cohort analysis of 20 patients treated between 2024 and 2025.
• Utilized the GORE Thoracic Branched Endoprosthesis (TBE) for aortic arch and descending thoracic aorta repair.
• Median follow-up of six months, with imaging via computed tomography angiography (CT-A).

Main Results:

• Successful implantation of the TBE in all 20 patients.
• Sidebranch preservation of the left subclavian artery (17), innominate artery (2), and left carotid artery (1).
• No in-hospital or 30-day mortality; two late deaths of unknown causes at 7-8 weeks post-procedure.

Conclusions:

• The GORE TBE demonstrates satisfying technical results for various aortic arch and descending pathologies.
• The device was successfully implanted with patent branches on postoperative CT-A.
• Longer follow-up and larger patient series are required to validate these findings.