Mycotic aneurysms of the thoracic aorta: Repair with use of endovascular stent-grafts JOURNAL OF VASCULAR AND INTERVENTIONAL RADIOLOGY Semba, C. P., Sakai, T., Slonim, S. M., Razavi, M. K., Kee, S. T., Jorgensen, M. J., Hagberg, R. C., Lee, G. K., Mitchell, R. S., Miller, D. C., Dake, M. D. 1998; 9 (1): 33-40

Abstract

Standard therapy of mycotic aneurysms in the descending aorta consists of thoracotomy and in situ graft placement or extraanatomic bypass. The alternative use of endovascular stent-grafts was evaluated for management of infected aneurysms of the thoracic aorta.In a retrospective analysis during a 5-year period, 112 patients underwent stent-graft placement for thoracic aortic aneurysms. Three patients (mean age, 68.6; range, 64-70 years) had mycotic thoracic aneurysms. Stent-grafts were constructed from Z stents covered with polyester fabric and were delivered remotely through a catheter under fluoroscopic guidance.Complete thrombosis of the mycotic aneurysms was achieved in all patients. One patient required a second separate stent-graft placement procedure because of migration of the initial device; the second patient underwent surgical repair of a ruptured mycotic abdominal aortic aneurysm followed immediately by stent-graft placement for a chronic mycotic thoracic aneurysm; a third patient underwent repair of two infected false aneurysms secondary to complete rupture of a surgical interposition graft. There were no complications of persistent bacteremia despite placement of the stent-graft device at the site of primary infection, reinfection, delayed rupture, paraplegia, distal emboli, or surgical conversion. One patient died of cardiac arrest at 25 months; there were no perioperative deaths (< or = 30 days). The remaining two patients were alive and well at median follow-up of 24 months (range, 4-25 months).Endovascular stent-grafts combined with antibiotic therapy may be an alternative to conventional thoracotomy in managing mycotic aneurysms of the descending thoracic aorta.

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