title: Endovascular repair of descending aortic dissections.
abstract: Endoluminal aortic stent-grafts have revolutionized the contemporary management of abdominal aortic aneurysms. The application of this treatment option for aortic dissections has been hampered by the difficult anatomic constraints frequently encountered with both acute and chronic forms of the disease. Although the data are sparse, it is rapidly growing as technologic advances are made in the design and delivery of various stent-grafts. Reviewed is our current understanding of the pathophysiology of descending thoracic aortic dissections, available stent-graft designs, techniques of implantation, and alternatives for complex anatomy. The section concludes with an overview of published data on stent-graft repair of both acute and chronic aortic dissections.
authors.affiliation: Division of Vascular Surgery, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois, USA.
authors.forename: Brian G
authors.initials: BG
authors.lastname: Peterson
authors.forename: Mark K
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Eskandari
mesh_terms: D000784:Aortic Dissection / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000601:surgery*; D017545:Aortic Aneurysm, Thoracic / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000601:surgery*; D001027:Aortography; D019917:Blood Vessel Prosthesis Implantation; D004867:Equipment Design; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D015607:Stents