State of the art and future perspectives in the treatment of aortic arch pathology

Patients with dissecting or aneurysmal disease of the aortic arch represent a unique challenge for the cardiac surgeon, and the employment of valid surgical and endovascular techniques and appropriate methods of cerebral protection is crucial for obtaining satisfactory postoperative results. Open surgical repair remains the approach of choice, even if supported by increasingly improved endovascular procedures. At present, a wide range of surgical, endovascular and hybrid procedures is available for the treatment of these high-risk patients. The aim of this review is to describe the different procedures used in patients with aortic arch pathology and to review the main results available in the literature.