Purpose: To present the 24-month radiological follow-up data for patients with pararenal aortic pathologies treated with chimney and periscope grafts during endovascular repair.
Methods: Between January 2008 and December 2011, 124 high-risk patients with complex pararenal aortic pathologies were treated using the chimney technique at 2 European vascular and cardiovascular centers with advanced experience of the described technique. In particular, 50 patients were treated at Site 1 and 74 at Site 2. Forty (32.2%) patients (32 men; mean age 79.2±4.9 years) completed computed tomographic angiography follow-up at 24 months postoperatively.
Results: The overall technical success was 100%, and the early- and midterm procedure-related mortality was 0%. Three (2.4%) patients had a perioperative type Ia endoleak that persisted; two were treated by transbrachial perigraft embolization and cuff implantation. The last patient is under radiological surveillance due to a "low-flow" type Ia endoleak and stable sac size. A type II endoleak was detected in 7 (5.6%) patients. During the 2-year follow-up, significant shrinkage (>5 mm; n=22) or stable aneurysm diameter (n=14) was seen in 36 (90%) of the cases. Overall, mean aneurysm sac shrinkage was 12% (p=0.002) and 10% (p=0.014) for the 2 centers, respectively (overall p=0.008). The causes for sac progression in the 4 (10%) patients were a type Ia endoleak, 2 type II endoleaks, and endotension.
Conclusion: The present study demonstrates that the use of chimney and/or periscope endografts for pararenal aortic pathologies achieves and maintains successful exclusion of the aneurysm in 90% of the cases at 24 months of radiological follow-up. In centers experienced with this approach, the chimney technique may represent a reliable therapeutic modality in selected patients.