• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.50 no.3
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• pp.137-143
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• 2017

Acute complicated type B aortic dissection (TBAD) is a potentially catastrophic, life-threatening condition. If left untreated, there is a high risk of aortic rupture, irreversible organ or limb damage, or death. Several risk factors have been associated with acute complicated TBAD, including age and refractory hypertension. In the acute phase, even uncomplicated patients are more prone to develop complications if hypertension and pain are left medically untreated. Innovations in stent graft technologies have incrementally improved outcomes since their first use for this condition in 1999, though improvement is needed in mitigating periprocedural complications, adverse events, and mortality. In the past decade, endovascular repair has become the preferred treatment because of its superior outcomes to open repair and medical therapy. The Valiant Captivia Thoracic Stent Graft System is a third-generation endovascular stent graft with advancements in minimally invasive delivery, conformability to the anatomy, and the minimization of adverse sequelae. Herein, this stent graft is briefly reviewed and its 3-year outcomes are presented. Freedom from all-cause and dissection-related mortality was 79.1% and 90.0%, respectiv ely. The Valiant Captiv ia Stent Graft represents a safe, effective intervention for acute complicated TBAD. Continued surveillance is needed to verify its longer-term durability.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.43 no.6
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• pp.769-773
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• 2010

Systemic hypotension has been traditionally used to facilitate deployment of thoracic stent grafts. Decreasing blood pressure with vasodilating agents further increases cardiac output and, consequently, the cardiac output-mediated windsock effect during deployment. Use of rapid ventricular pacing reduces the windsock effect during stent graft deployment and allows the graft to appose to the aortic wall under zero cardiac output, thus minimizing aortic wall shear stress. In this case we report the use of transvenous rapid ventricular pacing, a safe and reproducible technique to allow precise deployment of a Valiant Captivia stent graft in the distal thoracic arch for a saccular thoracic aneurysm.