The study on the safety and efficiency of Fontus frozen elephant trunk in patients with type A acute aortic dissection

Objective To compare the clinical outcomes of two kinds of stents, i.e, Fontus or Conus frozen elephant trunk, in patients with type A acute aortic dissection (TAAAD) . Methods Thirty-two TAAAD patients were enrolled in this study. Among the patients, 15 patients received Fontus frozen elephant trunk (Fontus group) , when the other 17 cases were conservatively treated with Conus stent (Conus group) . Peri-operative and follow-up clinical data of all the patients were collected. Results The preoperative clinical data of the two groups had no significant difference (P>0.05) . The operative data, including surgical procedure, time of cardiopulmonary bypass, aorta cross-clamping, operation time, had no significant difference between the two groups (P>0.05) . However, the Fontus group was significantly better than the Conus group in the time of deep hypothermia[ (26.7±9.1) min vs (32.3±7.8) min, P=0.04]and the ischemic time of the left vertebral artery[ (26.7±9.1) min vs (59.6±18.8) min, P 0.05) . However, compared with the Conus control group, there was a significant decrease in the blood loss and the volume of blood transfusion in the Fontus experimental group (P 0.05) . However, the false lumen thrombosis rate of the descending aorta in the Fontus group was significantly higher than that in the Conus group[ (0.93±0.25) % vs (0.76±0.17) %, P<0.05]. Moreover, there was 1 case of stent leakage in the Conus control group. Conclusion The initial application of Fontus stent in TAAAD has good clinical efficacy, which has certain advantages compared with Conus. However, a multicenter, large randomized controlled study is needed to verify the results. Key words: Type A acute aortic dissection; Fontus frozen elephant trunk; Conus frozen elephant trunk