Surgery for type B dissection using a short-stented elephant trunk procedure.

Background: Stent grafting is a very important treatment for type B dissection. Some patients are unsuitable for endograft repair because of inadequate proximal and/or distal fixation zones. We reviewed our experience of proximal descending thoracic replacement combined with short-stented elephant trunk implantation for type B dissection for patients without adequate fixation zones for endografts.

Methods: Twenty-one patients with type B dissection (10 acute, 11 chronic) underwent this procedure between August 2003 and December 2007. After replacement of the proximal descending thoracic aorta, a short-stented elephant trunk was implanted into the residual descending thoracic aorta. The residual false lumen was evaluated post-operatively using computed tomography (CT) scans.

Results: There were no in-hospital deaths. One death was observed during a mean follow-up of 69 ± 15 months. One patient with preoperative shock suffered paraparesis but recovered postoperatively. One patient had paraplegia and was lost to follow-up. Cerebral hemorrhage was observed in 1 patient, but he recovered. Thrombus obliteration of the false lumen around the stented elephant trunk was observed in 19 patients (95%) and at the diaphragmatic level in 17 patients (85%) during follow-up.

Conclusion: Replacement of the proximal descending thoracic aorta combined with short-stented elephant trunk implantation was a suitable alternative for type B dissection for patients without adequate fixation zones for endografts (particularly for young subjects). This procedure allowed enlargement of the true lumen, re-establishment of the true lumen, induction of thrombosis of the false lumen, and shrinkage of the aorta. Injury to the spinal cord, however, was an intractable problem.