New custom-designed treatment option.

• Position: Aortic Aneurysms - Stent grafting

The use of custom-designed stent grafts for the treatment of thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysms--a potentially deadly enlargement of the main artery carrying blood from the heart to the body and vital organs--is being investigated by vascular surgeons at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center for patients deemed high risk for open surgery. The Food and Drug Administration-approved clinical trial aims to address the unmet need for minimally invasive stent graft devices that can provide a safe and effective treatment for patients with aneurysms located in the aorta in both the chest and abdomen. No stent graft treatment currently is commercially available for these patients.

Treatment of thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysms, complex aneurysms that span both the thoracic aorta in the chest and the abdominal aorta, usually consists of open surgery, which carries up to a 20% risk of death because of the complexity of the operation. In addition, many patients undergoing this surgery are elderly and may have other medical conditions, precluding the option of surgery or making it highly risky.

The study is led by Darren Schneider, chief of vascular and endovascular surgery and associate professor of surgery at Weill Cornell Medical College. The stent grafts are custom designed for each patient's anatomy, and are assembled during the operation, with up to five custom-placed branches for the various critical vessels that supply blood to the kidneys, liver, intestines, and other organs, allowing for a precise fit.

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