A Systematic Review of Mid-term Outcomes of Thoracic Endovascular Repair (TEVAR) of Chronic Type B Aortic Dissection

Abstract Objective and design The role of Thoracic Endovascular Repair (TEVAR) in chronic type B aortic dissection remains controversial and its mid-term success as an alternative to open repair or best medical therapy remains unknown. The aim of the present study was to provide a systematic review of mid-term outcomes of TEVAR for chronic type B aortic dissection. Materials and methods Medline, trial registries, conference proceedings and article reference lists from 1950 to January 2011 were searched to identify case series reporting mid-term outcomes of TEVAR in chronic type B dissection. Data were extracted for review. Results 17 studies of 567 patients were reviewed. The technical success rate was 89.9% (range 77.6–100). Mid-term mortality was 9.2% (46/499) and survival ranged from 59.1 to 100% in studies with a median follow-up of 24 months. 8.1% of patients (25/309) developed endoleak, predominantly type I. Re-intervention rates ranged from 0 to 60% in studies with a median follow-up of 31 months. 7.8% of patients (26/332) developed aneurysms of the distal aorta or continued false lumen perfusion with aneurysmal dilatation. Rare complications included delayed retrograde type A dissection (0.67%), aorto-oesophageal fistula (0.22%) and neurological complications (paraplegia 2/447, 0.45%; stroke 7/475, 1.5%). Conclusion The absolute benefit of TEVAR over alternative treatments for chronic B-AD remains uncertain. The lack of natural history data for medically treated cases, significant heterogeneity in case selection and absence of consensus reporting standards for intervention are significant obstructions to interpreting the mid-term data. High-quality data from registries and clinical trials are required to address these challenges.