What is the incidence and mortality of retrograde type A aortic dissection after thoracic endovascular aortic repair?
RTAD is a rare but highly lethal complication following TEVAR, particularly in patients treated for acute dissection or when a proximal bare stent is used.
The pooled RTAD rate after TEVAR was calculated at 2.5% with a high mortality rate (37.1%). Incidence of RTAD is significantly more frequent in patients treated for dissection than those with an aneurysm (especially for acute dissection), and when the proximal bare stent was used. Rate of RTAD after TEVAR varied significantly according to the proximal Ishimaru landing zone. The more-experienced centers tend to have lower RTAD incidences.
Chen et al. (Fri,) studied this question.