Experience with early TEVAR treatment of uncomplicated type B aortic dissection

The current paradigm for the treatment of chronic type B aortic dissection involves primarily medical treatment. The patients are then followed for sequelae like progressive dissection or aneurysmal degeneration, selecting this subgroup for further intervention. The European Collaborator Registry, the Talent Thoracic Retrospective Registry, and several meta-analysis showed that the uncomplicated type B dissection patients who underwent thoracic endovascular aortic repair (TEVAR) outperformed their counterpart in the complicated group. The INSTEAD trial, the first randomized trial to examine whether TEVAR is better than medical management in the chronic stable dissection patients, showed no benefit early on although mid-term data might show some benefit. Clearly more randomized controlled trials are necessary to create a paradigm shift. In the United States, the FDA approved TEVAR devices are for the descending thoracic aortic aneurysm and transection only. The use of these devices for dissection is off-label or for investigation only. As future study might broaden the use of TEVAR for the chronic dissection patients, the use of TEVAR in hybrid surgery and in the ascending aorta is also broadening the indication for this technology. With two decades of innovation behind, TEVAR will continue to evolve and innovate in the years ahead.