Tailor-made iliac branched device for preserving the internal iliac artery in patients with common iliac artery aneurysm

BACKGROUND: Endovascular repair with stent-graft is a treatment option for patient with common iliac artery aneurysm (CIAA). However, the preservation of the internal iliac artery (IIA) is a concern. The commercially available iliac branched device (IBD) requires a common iliac length of at least 5 cm, which is usually too long for Asian people. Here, we report our medium-term results of using tailor-made IBD for patients with short common iliac artery (CIA) with and without abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA).

METHODS: A selected iliac limb of the AAA stent-graft was unloaded from the delivery system. A 6-mm fenestration hole was made at the length of the CIA from the proximal end. The edge of the hole was reinforced with the soft and radiopaque tip of a 0.014´´ wire. Then, the iliac limb was reloaded into the introduced sheath as the tailor-made IBD. It was inserted from the selected side of the femoral artery and deployed. The ipsilateral IIA was cannulated through the fenestration hole. Then, a balloon-expandable or self-expandable covered stent with an appropriate size was deployed as the bridging stent-graft.

RESULTS: Between March 2013 and March 2017, a total of 10 patients received the tailor-made IBDs. One patient died of systemic thromboembolism 2 days after the operation. The bridging stent-grafts remained patent in all patients, except one occluded at 1 year after operation.

CONCLUSION: A tailor-made IBD is an easy-to-apply, alternative option for preserving the IIA perfusion in short CIAA patients with and without AAA.