The inside-out endograft: a proposed method to decrease the profile of aortic stent-grafts.
OBJECTIVE
To test the novel hypotheses that (1) endograft profile can be reduced if the components do not overlap in the carrier catheter and (2) the inside-out deployment technique can produce a device with overlapping layers.


METHODS
This study evaluated an endograft in which the graft and stents were connected to each other in an end-to-end fashion without overlap. The endograft was released into a water flow model to become overlapping layers of graft and stents. Then, a Zenith endograft was modified and deployed using this technique, which reduced the Zenith endograft introducer from 20 to 14 French.


CONCLUSIONS
Inside-out endograft deployment combined with the end-to-end connection of components without overlap may be an effective method to decrease the entry profile of aortic endografts.
Kerr
Andrew
A
Department of Radiology, New York Medical College-Metropolitan Hospital New York, New York 10029, USA. Andrew.Kerra@nychhc.org
D001011:Aorta / Q000601:surgery*; D001807:Blood Vessel Prosthesis; D019917:Blood Vessel Prosthesis Implantation / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D008422:Materials Testing; D011474:Prosthesis Design; D015607:Stents