Surgical treatment patterns and clinical outcomes of type B aortic dissection involving the aortic arch.

OBJECTIVE

In the present report, we have described the outcomes of endovascular repair, hybrid arch repair, and open surgical repair for type B dissection involving the aortic arch (B1-2, D).

METHODS

Cases of endovascular repair, hybrid arch repair, and open surgical repair performed between January 2015 and December 2019 for aortic dissection designated as B1-2, D by the Society for Vascular Surgery/Society of Thoracic Surgeons classification were retrospectively analyzed. The primary end point was all-cause mortality at follow-up. The secondary end points included early mortality, early morbidities, and aortic-related late events. Kaplan-Meier curves were created to analyze survival from all-cause mortality and freedom from aortic-related late events in the endovascular, hybrid, and open groups. Propensity score matching and stratification (stratified by proximal dissection extension: B1, D and B2, D) were performed as sensitivity analyses to compare the outcomes among the three treatment patterns after controlling for major confounders.

RESULTS

The present study included 151 patients (men, 79.5%; mean age, 47.3 ± 10.5 years), with 72 (47.7%) in the endovascular group, 46 (30.5%) in the hybrid group, and 33 (21.8%) in the open group. No significant difference was noted in early mortality between the endovascular, hybrid, and open groups (1.4% vs 2.2% vs 3.0%; P = .791). The incidence of early endoleak was significantly greater (33.3% vs 13.0% vs 6.1%; P = .002) and the incidence of renal function deterioration was less (4.2% vs 26.1% vs 24.2%; P = .001) after endovascular repair vs hybrid arch repair and open surgery. After a median follow-up of 40.0 months (range, 0-84.0 months), no significant differences were found in all-cause mortality (5.6% vs 4.3% vs 3.0%; P = 1.0), aortic-related late events (16.7% vs 15.2% vs 12.1%; P = .834), or late endoleak (9.7% vs 4.3% vs 6.1%; P = .630) after endovascular, hybrid, and open surgery. The propensity score matching and stratification analyses displayed consistent outcomes for early mortality, all-cause mortality, and aortic-related late events among the three groups.

CONCLUSIONS

The mid- to long-term outcomes after endovascular repair, hybrid arch repair, and open surgical repair for type B dissection involving the aortic arch (B1-2, D) were favorable and comparable in selected patients. Extensive experience and multidisciplinary teamwork are prerequisites for individualized strategies for repair of B1-2, D.