Aortic remodeling in acute type A aortic dissection after frozen elephant trunk implantation

Survivors at first intervention after acute type A aortic dissection often necessitate additional interventions to avoid dilation and rupture of the remaining thoraco-abdominal aorta. During the first-stage arch procedure, the attempt to treat the descending thoracic aorta with a stent graft could attenuate this phenomenon and reduce the need for further open or endovascular reinterventions. In this short review article, the frozen elephant trunk technique was tested as influencing factor of aortic remodeling during follow-up analysis. Late results from the identified studies suggested promising rates of false lumen thrombosis of the descending thoracic aorta (78–100%), suggesting that aortic remodeling is highly probable with this approach. However, a longer surveillance of the aortic diameters is still necessary to confirm this initial hypothesis.