Felice Pecoraro - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Felice Pecoraro

European heart journal, Jan 7, 2015

Journal of endovascular therapy : an official journal of the International Society of Endovascular Specialists, Jan 12, 2015

To evaluate the midterm outcomes of chimney and/or periscope grafts (CPGs) in patients presenting... more To evaluate the midterm outcomes of chimney and/or periscope grafts (CPGs) in patients presenting type I endoleak after a previous endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR). Between June 2002 and April 2014, 24 consecutive patients (mean age 73.9±9.2 years; 23 men) presenting a type I endoleak were addressed with CPGs to extend the proximal and/or distal landing zone and to maintain side branch perfusion. Indication for treatment was a type Ia endoleak in 23 (96%) patients and a type Ib endoleak in one. Median interval from the previous EVAR to endoleak treatment with CPGs was 52.2±48.9 months (range 0.2-179). All patients had proximal/distal landing zones precluding any standard endovascular reintervention. Measured outcomes included technical success and perioperative mortality and morbidity. Technical success was defined as a procedure completed as intended, with no secondary procedures within 30 days. Midterm outcomes included survival, CPG patency, endoleaks, and freedom from reinter...

The Journal of cardiovascular surgery, 2014

Intra-abdominal hypertension (IAH) and abdominal compartment syndrome (ACS) are frequently encoun... more Intra-abdominal hypertension (IAH) and abdominal compartment syndrome (ACS) are frequently encountered in patients treated for ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysms (rAAA) and carry a high morbidity and mortality risk. Despite these facts, IAH/ACS are still overlooked by many physicians, timely diagnosis is missed and treatment often inadequate. All staff involved in the treatment of rAAA should be aware of the risk factors predicting IAH/ACS, the profound implications and derangements on all organ systems, the clinical presentation, the appropriate measurement of intra-abdominal pressure to detect IAH/ACS and the current treatment options for these detrimental syndromes. This comprehensive review provides contemporary knowledge that should help to improve patient survival and long-term outcome.

General thoracic and cardiovascular surgery, 2014

The aim of this study is to report a new minimally invasive technique of superficial temporal art... more The aim of this study is to report a new minimally invasive technique of superficial temporal artery (STA) pseudoaneurysm treatment. Several surgical options have been employed to treat STA pseudoaneurysms. To address this rare condition, the employed techniques are ligation and excision of the aneurysm, endovascular coil embolization or percutaneous ultrasound-guided thrombin injection. Between techniques no significant differences are reported in terms of outcomes. The decision to adopt a technique depends on STA pseudoaneurysm morphology and surgeon preference. In the present report, STA pseudoaneurysm afferent and efferent branches were identified by ultrasound in a 92-year-old female. Under local anaesthesia, these branches were ligated through small skin incisions. STA pseudoaneurysm decompression was obtained by an 'over the needle aspiration'. A compressive dressing was left in space for 48 h.

Annals of vascular surgery, 2013

CMI is caused by chronic occlusive disease of mesenteric arteries. In such an uncommon disease, c... more CMI is caused by chronic occlusive disease of mesenteric arteries. In such an uncommon disease, clear recommendations are strongly needed. Unfortunately, treatment options for symptomatic CMI are still controversial and no guidelines exist. A systematic literature review of the last 25-years was conducted through MEDLINE, Embase, and Cochrane Review/Trials register to identify studies reporting on CMI treatment with more than 10 patients. Primary outcomes were perioperative mortality and morbidity rates. Secondary outcomes were survival rates, primary and secondary patency rates, vessels treated, CMI recurrence, follow-up (FU), technical success (TS), and in-hospital length of stay (InH-LOS). Patients were divided into endovascular treatment (ET) or open treatment (OT) groups. Subsequently, primary and secondary outcomes were analyzed by study publication year for the interval periods 1986-2000 ("A") and 2001-2010 ("B"). Differences were assessed using the t-test...

Annali italiani di chirurgia

Aneurysms of popliteal artery are the most frequently reported aneurysm after abdominal aorta. An... more Aneurysms of popliteal artery are the most frequently reported aneurysm after abdominal aorta. An unusual presentation is compression to adjacent structure. A 67 years old caucasian man presenting deep vein thrombosis signs to the right leg including functional impotence was admitted in emergency setting to Vascular Surgery Unit. A pulsing mass was present in the popliteal cave at inspection. The computed tomography angiography demonstrated a 53.2 mm popliteal artery aneurysm causing an ab extrinseco compression of the popliteal vein and a dislocation of popliteal nerve. A surgical open reconstruction with a reinforced Dacron graft was performed via a posterior approach. Patient was discharged on the fourth postoperative day with no functional impotence. At three and six months Doppler ultrasound followup both popliteal arterial graft and popliteal vein were patent. An unusual presentation of a popliteal artery aneurysm can be a popliteal compartment syndrome, especially in large an...

Vascular, 2012

Bypass surgery in aortoiliac or aortofemoral occlusive disease can be technically demanding and h... more Bypass surgery in aortoiliac or aortofemoral occlusive disease can be technically demanding and hazardous due to huge calcifications and/or patient co-morbidities. We report about mid-term results of a telescoping sutureless aortic anastomosis technique using endografts as connectors to address such challenging situations. This is a single-center experience (2004-2011) in seven patients (63 ± 6 years) requiring aortoiliac (three) or aortofemoral (four) bypass surgery. In six cases, an aortic stent graft was telescoped into the infrarenal aorta and partly deployed within the aorta and partly outside the aorta. In the first case, a bifurcated stent graft was deployed and the iliac legs were prolonged extra-anatomically with surgical grafts to reach the femoral bifurcation. In the following five cases, a tapered tubular stent graft was deployed through the aortic wall, landing inside a bifurcated surgical graft that was extra-anatomically connected to the iliac or femoral arteries. In ...

The Journal of cardiovascular surgery, 2012

The Endurant stent-graft (Medtronic, Inc., Minneapolis, MN, USA) is a latest generation device fo... more The Endurant stent-graft (Medtronic, Inc., Minneapolis, MN, USA) is a latest generation device for the treatment of abdominal aortic aneurysm. The idea behind designing such a graft came from the intention to broad the instruction for use (IFU) and to enable it to treat more challenging anatomy including the 10mm neck lengths, and more severe suprarenal and infrarenal angulations. Endurant stent-graft has active fixation through suprarenal stent with anchoring pins to provide migration resistance, optimized heights of stents and spacing between them for improved flexibility and conformability, low-profile delivery system with hydrophilic coating and controlled simple deployment mechanism. Short term results are excellent. Technical and clinical success is confirmed in Regulatory trials (EU and USA), as well as in ENGAGE and the Canadian registry. Many current publications record the use of Endurant stent-graft outside the Instruction for use. The results in a group of patients outsi...

Vascular and endovascular surgery, 2012

To report a combined ascending aorta and aortic arch hybrid repair, we performed off-pump with no... more To report a combined ascending aorta and aortic arch hybrid repair, we performed off-pump with no aortic graft replacement. A 65-year-old man, developing progressive recurrent laryngeal nerve paralysis, underwent a computed tomography (CT) angiography detecting nonpatent residual ductus Botalli aneurysm and ascending aorta aneurysm. Due to severe multimorbidities, a less-invasive alternative was elaborated. In a first step, appropriate proximal landing zone for aortic stent grafting was achieved by ascending aorta diameter reduction, with epiaortic wrapping, and debranching the supra-aortic trunks. In the second step, endovascular stent grafts were deployed from proximal ascending aorta to descending aorta, excluding the ductus Botalli aneurysm. Six-month follow-up CT shows ductus Botalli aneurysm exclusion, stable stent graft position, and ascending diameter and patent and stenosis-free supra-aortic grafts. This case supports this alternative treatment to open aortic repair under c...

Annali italiani di chirurgia

Endovascular popliteal artery aneurysm repair has emerged recently as a feasible alternative to s... more Endovascular popliteal artery aneurysm repair has emerged recently as a feasible alternative to standard surgical repair. However, the evidence from the literature is still limited, with only case reports, case series and one small randomized trial. Currently, the available data suggests that stent-grafts should be used in patients at very high surgical risk. The purpose of this study is to present our surgical experience in popliteal artery aneurysm repair in an endovascular era. Data from 36 consecutive patients, who were admitted to our hospital from January 2000 to April 2010, was analyzed retrospectively. Twenty-six patients underwent surgical treatment through medial or posterior access. The posterior approach was used preferentially. The medial approach was adopted in patients with large aneurysms or aneurysms involving the superficial femoral artery. Twelve patients (Group A; 46.1%) were operated on via medial access followed by femoropopliteal bypass. In the remaining fourt...

Journal of cardiovascular medicine (Hagerstown, Md.), 2011

An acute aortic syndrome with simultaneous presence of a penetrating aortic ulcer, an intramural ... more An acute aortic syndrome with simultaneous presence of a penetrating aortic ulcer, an intramural haematoma, a thoracic aortic dissection and an abdominal aortic aneurysm rupture has not previously been reported. Herein, we describe our experience with a patient treated by endovascular means with an 8-year follow-up.

Journal of Vascular Surgery, 2015

Journal of Cardiovascular Medicine, 2010

Journal of Vascular Surgery, 2011

Journal of Vascular Surgery, 2012

To present the clinical experience of consecutive series with use of balloon-expandable and self-... more To present the clinical experience of consecutive series with use of balloon-expandable and self-expanding chimney endografts (balloon-expandable covered stent group [BECS] vs self-expanding covered stent group [SECS]) in the endovascular treatment of challenging aortic pathologies requiring renal and/or visceral revascularization. Between January 2009 and May 2011, data for 37 high-risk patients from one center and 35 patients from another institution, with pararenal aortic pathologies treated by the chimney endovascular technique, were prospectively collected. The chimney-graft technique is based on the deployment of a covered or bare-metal stent parallel to the aortic endograft, thereby creating a conduit that runs outside the aortic main endograft, and has been proposed to ensure secure proximal fixation extending the sealing zones. Forty-six consecutive target vessels (43 renal arteries and 3 superior mesenteric arteries) were revascularized by the Advanta (Atrium, Hudson, NH) BECS (1.2 chimneys/patient); in contrast, 81 consecutive target vessels (64 renal arteries, 11 superior mesenteric arteries, and 6 celiac trunks) were revascularized by the Viabahn (Gore, Flagstaff, Ariz) SECS (2.3 chimneys/patient). The success rate for target vessel preservation was 97.8% for the BECS group and 100% for the SECS group in the entire follow up. There was one symptomatic left renal artery occlusion of the BECS group treated by open thrombectomy of the left renal artery and placement of 8-mm Dacron (BBraun, Aesculap AG, Tuttlingen, Germany) iliorenal bypass. Additionally, one patient underwent repeat balloon angioplasty with a 5-mm balloon due to high-grade in-stent stenosis of a 6 × 59 Advanta stent graft 12 months postoperatively. Overall, one perioperative (and not present in the computed tomography angiography at discharge) type Ia endoleak was detected in the BECS group. In contrast, five perioperative type Ia endoleaks were present in the SECS group; however, only one of them was persistent in the radiological imaging and was treated by proximal extension of a 5-mm cuff, 1 year postoperatively, due to continuous aneurismal sac increase. No patient of any subgroup developed postoperative persistent renal insufficiency with need of hemodialysis. Thirty-day and during the follow-up procedure-related mortality was 0% for both BECS and SECS groups. In summary, midterm results of use of covered chimney stents for pararenal aortic pathologies show safety and feasibility with excellent patency and low incidence of endoleaks.

Journal of Vascular Surgery, 2012

Journal of Endovascular Therapy, 2013

Journal of Endovascular Therapy, 2013

Journal of Endovascular Therapy, 2013

To present the 24-month radiological follow-up data for patients with pararenal aortic pathologie... more To present the 24-month radiological follow-up data for patients with pararenal aortic pathologies treated with chimney and periscope grafts during endovascular repair. Between January 2008 and December 2011, 124 high-risk patients with complex pararenal aortic pathologies were treated using the chimney technique at 2 European vascular and cardiovascular centers with advanced experience of the described technique. In particular, 50 patients were treated at Site 1 and 74 at Site 2. Forty (32.2%) patients (32 men; mean age 79.2±4.9 years) completed computed tomographic angiography follow-up at 24 months postoperatively. The overall technical success was 100%, and the early- and midterm procedure-related mortality was 0%. Three (2.4%) patients had a perioperative type Ia endoleak that persisted; two were treated by transbrachial perigraft embolization and cuff implantation. The last patient is under radiological surveillance due to a "low-flow" type Ia endoleak and stable sac size. A type II endoleak was detected in 7 (5.6%) patients. During the 2-year follow-up, significant shrinkage (>5 mm; n=22) or stable aneurysm diameter (n=14) was seen in 36 (90%) of the cases. Overall, mean aneurysm sac shrinkage was 12% (p=0.002) and 10% (p=0.014) for the 2 centers, respectively (overall p=0.008). The causes for sac progression in the 4 (10%) patients were a type Ia endoleak, 2 type II endoleaks, and endotension. The present study demonstrates that the use of chimney and/or periscope endografts for pararenal aortic pathologies achieves and maintains successful exclusion of the aneurysm in 90% of the cases at 24 months of radiological follow-up. In centers experienced with this approach, the chimney technique may represent a reliable therapeutic modality in selected patients.

European heart journal, Jan 7, 2015

Journal of endovascular therapy : an official journal of the International Society of Endovascular Specialists, Jan 12, 2015

To evaluate the midterm outcomes of chimney and/or periscope grafts (CPGs) in patients presenting... more To evaluate the midterm outcomes of chimney and/or periscope grafts (CPGs) in patients presenting type I endoleak after a previous endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR). Between June 2002 and April 2014, 24 consecutive patients (mean age 73.9±9.2 years; 23 men) presenting a type I endoleak were addressed with CPGs to extend the proximal and/or distal landing zone and to maintain side branch perfusion. Indication for treatment was a type Ia endoleak in 23 (96%) patients and a type Ib endoleak in one. Median interval from the previous EVAR to endoleak treatment with CPGs was 52.2±48.9 months (range 0.2-179). All patients had proximal/distal landing zones precluding any standard endovascular reintervention. Measured outcomes included technical success and perioperative mortality and morbidity. Technical success was defined as a procedure completed as intended, with no secondary procedures within 30 days. Midterm outcomes included survival, CPG patency, endoleaks, and freedom from reinter...

The Journal of cardiovascular surgery, 2014

Intra-abdominal hypertension (IAH) and abdominal compartment syndrome (ACS) are frequently encoun... more Intra-abdominal hypertension (IAH) and abdominal compartment syndrome (ACS) are frequently encountered in patients treated for ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysms (rAAA) and carry a high morbidity and mortality risk. Despite these facts, IAH/ACS are still overlooked by many physicians, timely diagnosis is missed and treatment often inadequate. All staff involved in the treatment of rAAA should be aware of the risk factors predicting IAH/ACS, the profound implications and derangements on all organ systems, the clinical presentation, the appropriate measurement of intra-abdominal pressure to detect IAH/ACS and the current treatment options for these detrimental syndromes. This comprehensive review provides contemporary knowledge that should help to improve patient survival and long-term outcome.

General thoracic and cardiovascular surgery, 2014

The aim of this study is to report a new minimally invasive technique of superficial temporal art... more The aim of this study is to report a new minimally invasive technique of superficial temporal artery (STA) pseudoaneurysm treatment. Several surgical options have been employed to treat STA pseudoaneurysms. To address this rare condition, the employed techniques are ligation and excision of the aneurysm, endovascular coil embolization or percutaneous ultrasound-guided thrombin injection. Between techniques no significant differences are reported in terms of outcomes. The decision to adopt a technique depends on STA pseudoaneurysm morphology and surgeon preference. In the present report, STA pseudoaneurysm afferent and efferent branches were identified by ultrasound in a 92-year-old female. Under local anaesthesia, these branches were ligated through small skin incisions. STA pseudoaneurysm decompression was obtained by an 'over the needle aspiration'. A compressive dressing was left in space for 48 h.

Annals of vascular surgery, 2013

CMI is caused by chronic occlusive disease of mesenteric arteries. In such an uncommon disease, c... more CMI is caused by chronic occlusive disease of mesenteric arteries. In such an uncommon disease, clear recommendations are strongly needed. Unfortunately, treatment options for symptomatic CMI are still controversial and no guidelines exist. A systematic literature review of the last 25-years was conducted through MEDLINE, Embase, and Cochrane Review/Trials register to identify studies reporting on CMI treatment with more than 10 patients. Primary outcomes were perioperative mortality and morbidity rates. Secondary outcomes were survival rates, primary and secondary patency rates, vessels treated, CMI recurrence, follow-up (FU), technical success (TS), and in-hospital length of stay (InH-LOS). Patients were divided into endovascular treatment (ET) or open treatment (OT) groups. Subsequently, primary and secondary outcomes were analyzed by study publication year for the interval periods 1986-2000 ("A") and 2001-2010 ("B"). Differences were assessed using the t-test...

Annali italiani di chirurgia

Aneurysms of popliteal artery are the most frequently reported aneurysm after abdominal aorta. An... more Aneurysms of popliteal artery are the most frequently reported aneurysm after abdominal aorta. An unusual presentation is compression to adjacent structure. A 67 years old caucasian man presenting deep vein thrombosis signs to the right leg including functional impotence was admitted in emergency setting to Vascular Surgery Unit. A pulsing mass was present in the popliteal cave at inspection. The computed tomography angiography demonstrated a 53.2 mm popliteal artery aneurysm causing an ab extrinseco compression of the popliteal vein and a dislocation of popliteal nerve. A surgical open reconstruction with a reinforced Dacron graft was performed via a posterior approach. Patient was discharged on the fourth postoperative day with no functional impotence. At three and six months Doppler ultrasound followup both popliteal arterial graft and popliteal vein were patent. An unusual presentation of a popliteal artery aneurysm can be a popliteal compartment syndrome, especially in large an...

Vascular, 2012

Bypass surgery in aortoiliac or aortofemoral occlusive disease can be technically demanding and h... more Bypass surgery in aortoiliac or aortofemoral occlusive disease can be technically demanding and hazardous due to huge calcifications and/or patient co-morbidities. We report about mid-term results of a telescoping sutureless aortic anastomosis technique using endografts as connectors to address such challenging situations. This is a single-center experience (2004-2011) in seven patients (63 ± 6 years) requiring aortoiliac (three) or aortofemoral (four) bypass surgery. In six cases, an aortic stent graft was telescoped into the infrarenal aorta and partly deployed within the aorta and partly outside the aorta. In the first case, a bifurcated stent graft was deployed and the iliac legs were prolonged extra-anatomically with surgical grafts to reach the femoral bifurcation. In the following five cases, a tapered tubular stent graft was deployed through the aortic wall, landing inside a bifurcated surgical graft that was extra-anatomically connected to the iliac or femoral arteries. In ...

The Journal of cardiovascular surgery, 2012

The Endurant stent-graft (Medtronic, Inc., Minneapolis, MN, USA) is a latest generation device fo... more The Endurant stent-graft (Medtronic, Inc., Minneapolis, MN, USA) is a latest generation device for the treatment of abdominal aortic aneurysm. The idea behind designing such a graft came from the intention to broad the instruction for use (IFU) and to enable it to treat more challenging anatomy including the 10mm neck lengths, and more severe suprarenal and infrarenal angulations. Endurant stent-graft has active fixation through suprarenal stent with anchoring pins to provide migration resistance, optimized heights of stents and spacing between them for improved flexibility and conformability, low-profile delivery system with hydrophilic coating and controlled simple deployment mechanism. Short term results are excellent. Technical and clinical success is confirmed in Regulatory trials (EU and USA), as well as in ENGAGE and the Canadian registry. Many current publications record the use of Endurant stent-graft outside the Instruction for use. The results in a group of patients outsi...

Vascular and endovascular surgery, 2012

To report a combined ascending aorta and aortic arch hybrid repair, we performed off-pump with no... more To report a combined ascending aorta and aortic arch hybrid repair, we performed off-pump with no aortic graft replacement. A 65-year-old man, developing progressive recurrent laryngeal nerve paralysis, underwent a computed tomography (CT) angiography detecting nonpatent residual ductus Botalli aneurysm and ascending aorta aneurysm. Due to severe multimorbidities, a less-invasive alternative was elaborated. In a first step, appropriate proximal landing zone for aortic stent grafting was achieved by ascending aorta diameter reduction, with epiaortic wrapping, and debranching the supra-aortic trunks. In the second step, endovascular stent grafts were deployed from proximal ascending aorta to descending aorta, excluding the ductus Botalli aneurysm. Six-month follow-up CT shows ductus Botalli aneurysm exclusion, stable stent graft position, and ascending diameter and patent and stenosis-free supra-aortic grafts. This case supports this alternative treatment to open aortic repair under c...

Annali italiani di chirurgia

Endovascular popliteal artery aneurysm repair has emerged recently as a feasible alternative to s... more Endovascular popliteal artery aneurysm repair has emerged recently as a feasible alternative to standard surgical repair. However, the evidence from the literature is still limited, with only case reports, case series and one small randomized trial. Currently, the available data suggests that stent-grafts should be used in patients at very high surgical risk. The purpose of this study is to present our surgical experience in popliteal artery aneurysm repair in an endovascular era. Data from 36 consecutive patients, who were admitted to our hospital from January 2000 to April 2010, was analyzed retrospectively. Twenty-six patients underwent surgical treatment through medial or posterior access. The posterior approach was used preferentially. The medial approach was adopted in patients with large aneurysms or aneurysms involving the superficial femoral artery. Twelve patients (Group A; 46.1%) were operated on via medial access followed by femoropopliteal bypass. In the remaining fourt...

Journal of cardiovascular medicine (Hagerstown, Md.), 2011

An acute aortic syndrome with simultaneous presence of a penetrating aortic ulcer, an intramural ... more An acute aortic syndrome with simultaneous presence of a penetrating aortic ulcer, an intramural haematoma, a thoracic aortic dissection and an abdominal aortic aneurysm rupture has not previously been reported. Herein, we describe our experience with a patient treated by endovascular means with an 8-year follow-up.

Journal of Vascular Surgery, 2015

Journal of Cardiovascular Medicine, 2010

Journal of Vascular Surgery, 2011

Journal of Vascular Surgery, 2012

To present the clinical experience of consecutive series with use of balloon-expandable and self-... more To present the clinical experience of consecutive series with use of balloon-expandable and self-expanding chimney endografts (balloon-expandable covered stent group [BECS] vs self-expanding covered stent group [SECS]) in the endovascular treatment of challenging aortic pathologies requiring renal and/or visceral revascularization. Between January 2009 and May 2011, data for 37 high-risk patients from one center and 35 patients from another institution, with pararenal aortic pathologies treated by the chimney endovascular technique, were prospectively collected. The chimney-graft technique is based on the deployment of a covered or bare-metal stent parallel to the aortic endograft, thereby creating a conduit that runs outside the aortic main endograft, and has been proposed to ensure secure proximal fixation extending the sealing zones. Forty-six consecutive target vessels (43 renal arteries and 3 superior mesenteric arteries) were revascularized by the Advanta (Atrium, Hudson, NH) BECS (1.2 chimneys/patient); in contrast, 81 consecutive target vessels (64 renal arteries, 11 superior mesenteric arteries, and 6 celiac trunks) were revascularized by the Viabahn (Gore, Flagstaff, Ariz) SECS (2.3 chimneys/patient). The success rate for target vessel preservation was 97.8% for the BECS group and 100% for the SECS group in the entire follow up. There was one symptomatic left renal artery occlusion of the BECS group treated by open thrombectomy of the left renal artery and placement of 8-mm Dacron (BBraun, Aesculap AG, Tuttlingen, Germany) iliorenal bypass. Additionally, one patient underwent repeat balloon angioplasty with a 5-mm balloon due to high-grade in-stent stenosis of a 6 × 59 Advanta stent graft 12 months postoperatively. Overall, one perioperative (and not present in the computed tomography angiography at discharge) type Ia endoleak was detected in the BECS group. In contrast, five perioperative type Ia endoleaks were present in the SECS group; however, only one of them was persistent in the radiological imaging and was treated by proximal extension of a 5-mm cuff, 1 year postoperatively, due to continuous aneurismal sac increase. No patient of any subgroup developed postoperative persistent renal insufficiency with need of hemodialysis. Thirty-day and during the follow-up procedure-related mortality was 0% for both BECS and SECS groups. In summary, midterm results of use of covered chimney stents for pararenal aortic pathologies show safety and feasibility with excellent patency and low incidence of endoleaks.

Journal of Vascular Surgery, 2012

Journal of Endovascular Therapy, 2013

Journal of Endovascular Therapy, 2013

Journal of Endovascular Therapy, 2013

To present the 24-month radiological follow-up data for patients with pararenal aortic pathologie... more To present the 24-month radiological follow-up data for patients with pararenal aortic pathologies treated with chimney and periscope grafts during endovascular repair. Between January 2008 and December 2011, 124 high-risk patients with complex pararenal aortic pathologies were treated using the chimney technique at 2 European vascular and cardiovascular centers with advanced experience of the described technique. In particular, 50 patients were treated at Site 1 and 74 at Site 2. Forty (32.2%) patients (32 men; mean age 79.2±4.9 years) completed computed tomographic angiography follow-up at 24 months postoperatively. The overall technical success was 100%, and the early- and midterm procedure-related mortality was 0%. Three (2.4%) patients had a perioperative type Ia endoleak that persisted; two were treated by transbrachial perigraft embolization and cuff implantation. The last patient is under radiological surveillance due to a "low-flow" type Ia endoleak and stable sac size. A type II endoleak was detected in 7 (5.6%) patients. During the 2-year follow-up, significant shrinkage (>5 mm; n=22) or stable aneurysm diameter (n=14) was seen in 36 (90%) of the cases. Overall, mean aneurysm sac shrinkage was 12% (p=0.002) and 10% (p=0.014) for the 2 centers, respectively (overall p=0.008). The causes for sac progression in the 4 (10%) patients were a type Ia endoleak, 2 type II endoleaks, and endotension. The present study demonstrates that the use of chimney and/or periscope endografts for pararenal aortic pathologies achieves and maintains successful exclusion of the aneurysm in 90% of the cases at 24 months of radiological follow-up. In centers experienced with this approach, the chimney technique may represent a reliable therapeutic modality in selected patients.