Concomitant Aortic Root Replacement During Frozen Elephant Trunk Implantation Does Not Increase Perioperative Risk

The authors examined the safety of combining aortic root replacement with frozen elephant trunk (FET) total arch replacement. Outcomes were similar between the FET alone and FET with aortic root replacement groups. Adding aortic root replacement was not associated with increased mortality and there was no difference in overall survival between the groups. Although concomitant root replacement lengthens the operation time, it does not appear to increase risk in an experienced centre with high volumes.