Aortic remodelling based on false lumen communications in patients undergoing acute type I dissection repair with AMDS hybrid prosthesis: a substudy of the DARTS trial

Abstract OBJECTIVES The Dissected Aorta Repair Through Stent (DARTS) Implantation trial demonstrated positive proximal aortic remodelling following aortic dissection repair with the AMDS hybrid prosthesis. In this study, we look to identify predictors of aortic remodelling following aortic dissection repair with AMDS including whether communications between branch vessels and the false lumen (FL) predict aortic growth. METHODS The DARTS implantation trial included patients who underwent acute DeBakey type I aortic dissection (ATAD I) repair with the AMDS from March 2017 to January 2019. Anatomic measurements were collected from original computerized tomography scans. Measurements were taken at zones 2, 3, 6 and 9. Patients were grouped based on the number of FL communications with the supra-aortic branch vessels or visceral branch vessels. RESULTS Forty-seven patients were included in the original DARTS implantation trial. Patients with FL communications with the supra-aortic branch vessels tended to have significant growth at zone 3 (P = 0.02–0.0018), while greater numbers of visceral FL communications tended to predict aortic growth at zones 3 (P = 0.003), 6 (P = 0.017–0.0087) and 9 (P = 0.0016–0.0003). CONCLUSIONS Aortic remodelling following ATAD I repair using the AMDS may be predicted by local FL communications with branch vessels. Patients undergoing ATAD I repair were more likely to experience significant aortic growth in zone 3 with more head vessel communications and in zones 3, 6 and 9 with more visceral FL communications. Predictors of aortic remodelling may help to guide initial surgical management for aortic dissection patients. Acute DeBakey type I aortic dissection (ATAD I) is a life-threatening condition requiring emergent surgical intervention to prevent loss of life [1, 2]. Graphical Abstract