Two-Year Outcomes of Endovascular Repair of Isolated Thoracic Aortic Lesions Using a Single-Branch Thoracic Endograft With Left Subclavian Artery Preservation

Thoracic endovascular aortic repair (TEVAR) is the preferred management for pathology of the descending thoracic aorta, including penetrating aortic ulcers, dissections, and blunt trauma. TEVAR often requires exclusion of the left subclavian artery to establish an adequate proximal landing zone. The authors report two-year outcomes using the GORE TAG Thoracic Branch Endoprosthesis (TBE) for isolated lesions of the descending thoracic aorta requiring zone 2 coverage. A 100 percent procedural technical success rate was reported, although 31 percent (n=4/13) of patients required distal TEVAR in addition to the TBE device for complete exclusion of their aortic pathology. No 30-day or in-hospital mortality, stroke, paraparesis/paraplegia, or new dialysis occurred. Regarding two-year outcomes, the authors reported no type I or III endoleaks, loss of left subclavian artery branch patency, reinterventions, or aortic enlargement (greater than 5 mm).