Prevention of paraplegia after endovascular exclusion for stanford B thoracic aortic dissection aneurism

Objective: To assess the prophylactic measures of paraplegia and paralysis after endovascular graft exclusion (EVE) for Stanford B thoracic aortic dissections (TAD). Methods: The records of 116 consecutive patients undergoing endovascular TAD repair from 1998 to 2001 were retrospectively reviewed. Steroids were administrated postoperatively in high risk patients likely to be candidates for paraplegia or paralysis. Results: No paraplegia or paralysis occurred postoperatively in all cases, including the patient undergone selective spinal artery angiography (SSAA). Conclusions: Transluminal repair can avoid spinal cord ischemia due to aortic cross-clamping, there is still a risk of spinal cord injury caused by occlusion of intercostal arteries under the cover of endograft. A combination of the prophylactic measures, including SSAA and steroids, have been able to reduce the risk of paraplegia and paralysis. A graft-stent of appropriate length is the key point of this procedure