Late aortic arch perforation by graft-anchoring stent: complication of endovascular thoracic aneurysm exclusion

To describe a fatal case of late aortic perforation by an endograft-anchoring stent.

A 69-year-old woman presented 2 years after thoracoabdominal aneurysm repair with a 9-cm dilatation of the descending thoracic aorta proximal to the conventional aortic graft. A 38-mm Dacron graft with multiple Gianturco Z-stents sutured inside was placed transluminally across the aortic arch such that part of the uncovered portion of the proximal stent was partially across the left subclavian orifice. Four months later, the patient died from massive hemorrhage. Autopsy showed that the uncovered portion of the proximal stent had perforated the aortic arch.

This case stresses the need for low-profile stent-grafts and smaller, more flexible introducer systems. Anchoring stents must be flexible, less traumatic, and strong enough to create a watertight seal even in tortuous vessels. To avoid aortic arch damage by thoracic stent-grafts, the proximal stent should be fully covered by the fabric.