Total arch repair with frozen elephant trunk using the "zone 0 arch repair'' strategy for type A acute aortic dissection

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of frozen elephant trunk deployment from the zone 0 aorta to the descending aorta on early and midterm postoperative results in patients with acute type A aortic dissection. Methods: Between October 2014 and April 2018, 108 patients underwent a combined strategy of frozen elephant trunk deployment, ascending aortic replacement, and arch vessel reconstruction ("zone 0 arch repair'' strategy) for acute type A aortic dissection (excluding DeBakey type II). Of the 108 patients, 32 (29.6%) had primary tears of the aortic arch or descending aorta. Results: The 30-day mortality rate was 2.8%(3 patients), and in-hospital mortality rate was 6.5%(7 patients). New-onset permanent neurologic dysfunction and spinal cord injury occurred in 3.7% and 0% of patients, respectively. Five of the 101 survivors underwent thoracic endovascular aortic repair during hospitalization (2 for rapid false lumen enlargement; 3 for true lumen stenosis). The overall survival was 89.8%, 88.1%, and 88.1% at 1, 2, and 3 years, respectively. The cumulative incidence of distal aortic reintervention was 5.8%, 9.1%, and 9.1% at 1, 2, and 3 years, respectively. Two patients underwent thoracic endovascular aortic repair for distal aortic enlargement after discharge. Conclusions: The use of the "zone 0 arch repair'' strategy can eliminate the need for invasive aortic arch resection. It also eliminates the false lumen and produces satisfactory early and midterm postoperative results. Therefore, it can be an alternative to hemiarch and total arch replacements, which are based on a conventional "tear-oriented resection'' strategy.