Abstract:

Objective  To summarize studies on stented elephant trunk procedure (SET) for extensive thoracic aortic aneurysms. Methods  In this systematic review and Metaanalysis of all English language literatures of SET through searches of the electronic databases EMBASE and Medline before August 2009, 12 studies, involving a total of 538 patients, were included. Results  Twenty-seven of 542 patients with available data died during the in-hospital period, yielding an overall in-hospital mortality rate of （5.0±0.7）%; the incidence of postoperatiove renal failure was (3.5±0.8)%; stroke occurred in （2.9±0.7）% of the patients; paraplegia or paraparesis was reported with an incidence of (3.5±0.8)%. Over a mean follow-up period of (36.0±20.3) months, Kaplan-Meier analysis yielded overall survival rates of (94.30±0.10)% at 1 year, (93.60±0.11)% at 2 years, and  (91.40±0.14)% at 5 years, respectively. Conclusions  The SET technique represents an effective surgical option for the treatment of extensive aortic aneurysm with low early morbidity and mortality.Moreover, the efficacy in closing the rsidual false lumen of the desecending aorea is proved in the middle-term.

Key words: Stented elephant trunk; Extended thoracic aneurysms; Aortic dissection