Hybrid noncovered open stents in repair of DeBakey type 1 acute aortic dissections

Objectives: The indications for use, evidence base and experience with the novel noncovered open hybrid surgical stents for acute type A aortic dissection repair for concurrent stabilization of the 'downstream' aorta remains limited. We review the evidence base and the development of these stents.

Methods: Data were collected from Pubmed/Medline literature search to develop and review the evidence base for safety and efficacy of non-covered surgical stents. Existing guidelines for use and developments were reviewed.

Results: A single randomized control trial and 4 single-centre studies were included in the review with a total worldwide experience of 241 patients. The deployment was easy and did not add significantly to the primary operation. The mortality and new stroke ranged from 6.3-18.7%. Safe and complete deployment was accomplished in 92-100%. There was no device-related reintervention. There was a significant improvement in malperfusion in over 90% of the cases with varying degrees of remodelling (60-90%) of the downstream aorta.

Conclusions: Open noncovered stent grafts represent a major technical advancement as an adjunct procedure for acute dissection repairs, e.g. hemiarch repair. It has potential for wider use by non-aortic surgeons due to simplicity of technique. Limited safety and efficacy data confirm the device to be safe, feasible and reproducible with potential for wider adoption. However, long-term trial and registry data are required before recommendations for standard use outside of high-volume experienced aortic centres.