Shifting Wallgraft position: case reports and review of the forces affecting Wallgraft positioning.

Abstract

Extensive use of stent-grafts in the iliac arteries is an increasingly common endovascular alternative to an aortobifemoral bypass procedure. The treatment of diffuse bilateral disease is frequently performed by using the technique of paired stent-grafts in the proximal common iliac arteries to effectively re-create the aortic-bifurcation. We present three patients treated with this technique who returned with recurrent occlusive disease. During subsequent treatment, the stent-grafts were noted to be in different positions from where they were initially deployed. A discussion of the possible explanations for the shifting positions follows.