Planning the use of endografts in the endovascular repair of complex abdominal and thoraco-abdominal aortic lesions leveraging 3D printing

Introduction: Endovascular techniques and materials have significantly expanded their application in the treatment of abdominal and thoraco-abdominal aortic lesions, allowing for the management of increasingly complex pathologies that may require cannulation of target vessels. The treatment of such diseases deserves a particular approach and dedicated materials, for which correct procedural planning is mandatory. In the last decades, the use of 3D printing technology as an assisting tool for preoperative rehearsal of complex cases has progressively widespread.

Areas covered: A review was performed about the use of 3D printing technology for the planning of endovascular repair of complex abdominal and thoraco-abdominal aortic lesions. Also, our experience of planning and simulation of an elective challenging endovascular procedure for a Crawford's type II thoraco-abdominal aortic aneurysm using a Cook Zenith® T-Branch^TM endograft, leveraging a 3D-printed model of the patient-specific anatomy from the aortic arch to the common femoral artery, is herein described.

Expert opinion: The benefits of using 3D printing technologies as an assistive tool in planning complex endovascular repairs of abdominal and thoraco-abdominal aortic lesions have been well-documented in the literature, including their application in urgent cases. However, further research and development are necessary to overcome the current limitations of this potentially highly valuable technology.