Endovascular repair of abdominal aortic aneurysm: limitations of the single proximal stent technique.

Abstract

Endovascular repair of abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) has been performed using both a single proximal stent technique and a double (proximal and distal) stent method to anchor a graft in the aneurysm lumen. This study examined the effect of the single proximal stent technique on femoral artery blood flow, renal function and the occurrence of back-bleeding into the aneurysm sac in a canine model; eight dogs were used. Femoral artery blood flow and glomerular filtration rate were not affected by graft-stent insertion. Two graft-stent combinations failed to deploy in the correct position and led to graft thrombosis in one case. The six correctly positioned grafts all showed back-bleeding from around the distal end into the aneurysm sac. The single proximal stent technique for endovascular repair of AAA is inadequate and attention should continue to focus on a double (proximal and distal) stent method or a bifurcated system.