An experimental study of type I endoleak repair with a suturing device.

Abstract

An experimental study was done to investigate repair of type I endoleaks in thoracic aortic aneurysms using the T-Fix suturing device (Smith & Nephew Co, Ltd, London, United Kingdom). A saccular descending aortic aneurysm was made in 5 pigs experimentally. A stent graft was deployed to produce a proximal type I endoleak. Under fluoroscopy, the aorta was punctured with the spinal needle with the T-Fix plastic bar, and the plastic bar was deployed with a push rod. A sufficient number of T-Fix sutures were used until angiography revealed that the type I endoleak had disappeared. No hemodynamic events occurred during the procedure. An average of 2.5 +/- 0.6 T-Fix sutures were required to eliminate the endoleak. The experimental T-Fix repair was performed without any complications. A new method of repairing type I endoleaks for thoracic aortic aneurysms was successfully performed using the T-Fix system. Although the T-Fix repair currently has some anatomic and clinical limitations, improvement of the device should lead to the increased use of this repair.