title: A systematic review of mid-term outcomes of thoracic endovascular repair (TEVAR) of chronic type B aortic dissection.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  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.
  
  
  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%).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  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.
authors: Department of Outcomes Research, St. George's Vascular Institute, London SW17 0QT, UK.
authors: S G
authors: SG
authors: Thrumurthy
authors: A
authors: A
authors: Karthikesalingam
authors: B O
authors: BO
authors: Patterson
authors: P J E
authors: PJ
authors: Holt
authors: R J
authors: RJ
authors: Hinchliffe
authors: I M
authors: IM
authors: Loftus
authors: M M
authors: MM
authors: Thompson
mesh_terms: D000784:Aortic Dissection / Q000601:surgery*; D017545:Aortic Aneurysm, Thoracic / Q000601:surgery*; D019917:Blood Vessel Prosthesis Implantation; D057510:Endovascular Procedures; D006801:Humans; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome