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Objective The European Society for Vascular Surgery (ESVS) has developed clinical practice guidelines for the care of patients with aneurysms of the abdominal aorta and iliac arteries in succession to the 2011 and 2019 versions, with the aim of assisting physicians and patients in selecting the best management strategy. Methods The guideline is based on scientific evidence completed with expert opinion on the matter. By summarising and evaluating the best available evidence, recommendations for the evaluation and treatment of patients have been formulated. The recommendations are graded according to a modified European Society of Cardiology grading system, where the strength (class) of each recommendation is graded from I to III and the letters A to C mark the level of evidence. Results A total of 160 recommendations have been issued on the following topics: Service standards, including surgical volume and training; Epidemiology, diagnosis, and screening; Management of patients with small abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA), including surveillance, cardiovascular risk reduction, and indication for repair; Elective AAA repair, including operative risk assessment, open and endovascular repair, and early complications; Ruptured and symptomatic AAA, including peri-operative management, such as permissive hypotension and use of aortic occlusion balloon, open and endovascular repair, and early complications, such as abdominal compartment syndrome and colonic ischaemia; Long term outcome and follow up after AAA repair, including graft infection, endoleaks and follow up routines; Management of complex AAA, including open and endovascular repair; Management of iliac artery aneurysm, including indication for repair and open and endovascular repair; and Miscellaneous aortic problems, including mycotic, inflammatory, and saccular aortic aneurysm. In addition, Shared decision making is being addressed, with supporting information for patients, and Unresolved issues are discussed. Co

OBJECTIVE: To determine short and midterm outcomes of a pre-loaded fenestrated thoracic endograft (f-TEVAR) for exclusion of distal aortic arch pathologies. METHODS: This was a multicentre, retrospective study including consecutive patients from six experienced European vascular centres undergoing f-TEVAR for distal arch pathologies. Primary endpoints included peri-operative mortality and peri-operative stroke and/or spinal cord ischaemia rates. Secondary outcomes were technical success and mid to late events, including death and re-interventions. Statistical analysis was performed with SPSS 26. Mid to late term events were calculated using Kaplan-Meier survival analysis. RESULTS: One hundred and eight patients were included (mean age 68 ± 11 years, 70% men). A total of 38% (n = 42) had a prior history of aortic dissection, and 24% (n = 26) prior aortic surgery. The mean aneurysm diameter was 59 ± 12 mm and the most frequent indication for treatment was post-dissection aneurysms (n = 42, 39%). Technical success was 99% (n = 107) despite intra-operative wire entanglement occurring in 29% (n = 31). The 30 day mortality rate was 3.7% (n = 4), with a 5.6% major stroke incidence (n = 6) and 3.7% (n = 4) spinal cord ischaemia rate. Three cases of retrograde dissection occurred (two of which were fatal), all in post-type B dissecting aneurysm patients without prior aortic surgery (three of 19, 15.8%). Median follow up was 12 months (range, 1 - 26). Endoleaks were documented during follow up, with 3.5% type Ia (4/104) and 2.9% type Ib (3/104) as a result of persistent false lumen perfusion. The one, two, and three year survivals and freedom from re-intervention rates were 93.2% and 92.1%, 89.1% and 86.3%, and 84.4% and 73%, respectively. CONCLUSION: This multicentre study shows that treatment of the distal aortic arch by f-TEVAR is feasible, with promising 30 day mortality, stroke, and spinal cord ischaemia rates.

Objective: With an increasing life expectancy, more octogenarian patients are referred with complex aortic aneurysms (cAAA). The aim of this study was to evaluate short and mid-term outcomes following fenestrated aortic repair (FEVAR) in octogenarians. Methods: Retrospective, multicentre cohort study including 8 centres across Europe and New Zealand. Consecutive patients undergoing elective FEVAR for the treatment of juxta/pararenal or type IV thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysms between 2013 and 2021 were included. The primary outcome was 30-day mortality. Secondary outcomes included 1, 2 and 5-year survival rates and mid-to-long term reintervention rates. Results: A total of 729 patients were included, of which 169 were octogenarians. Octogenarian patients were more frequently male and had larger (61mm vs. 58mm) aneurysms. No differences in 30-day mortality (4.7% vs. 3.9%) or 30-day complication rates (29% vs 28.4%) were found. Median follow-up was 23.56 months. The 1, 2 and 5-year survival rates for octogenarian vs nonoctogenarian patients were 90.7%, 80.1% and 40.1% vs. 90.2%, 85.5% and 68.1%, respectively (p=.001). Cox regression analysis found a BMI ≥ 30 (HR 0.50, 95% CI 0.28-0.88), chronic heart failure (HR 2.14, 95% CI 1.04 – 4.39) and AAA diameter between 60-70mm (HR 2.35, 95% CI 1.31 – 4.23) to be predictors of longterm mortality. Conclusions: Thirty-day outcomes after FEVAR were similar in octogenarians and younger patients. However, mid to long term survival rates, especially after 3 years, are considerably low in both groups. Whilst FEVAR in octogenarians can be performed safely and with good early outcomes, methods to improve case selection and ensure patient benefit in the long term are highly of interest.

Objectives: The optimal degree of proximal thoracic endograft oversizing when aiming for durable sealing in prosthetic grafts in unknown. The aim of this study was to create an in vitro model for testing different oversized thoracic endografts in a reproducible and standardized manner, and subsequently determining the optimal oversizing range when planning procedures with proximal landing in prosthetic zones in the descending thoracic aorta or aortic arch. Materials and Methods: An in-vitro model consisting of a fixated 24mm polyethylene terephthalate (Dacron) graft sutured proximally and distally to two specifically designed 40mm rings, with four force sensing resistors attached at 4 equally distant positions and a USB camera attached proximally for photographic and video documentation was used for deployment of Zenith TX2 (Cook Medical, Bloomington, IN, USA) dissection platform endografts with diameters between 24 and 36mm. After deployment, ballooning with a 32mm compliant balloon was performed to simulate real life conditions. Assessment of oversizing included visual inspection, calculation of the valley areas created between the prosthetic wall and the stentgraft fabric, distance between stentgraft peaks, radial force exerted by the proximal sealing stent and the pull-out force necessary for endograft extraction. Results: A total of 70 endografts were deployed: 10x 24mm, 10x 26mm, 10x 28mm, 10x30mm, 10x32mm, 10x34mm and 10x36mm, with oversizing ranging between 0-50%. Two cases of infolding occurred with 50% oversizing. Valley areas increased from 8.79 ± 0,23 mm with 16.7% oversizing to 14.26 ± 0.45 mmÇ for 50% oversizing (p<.001). There was a significant difference in the pull-out force required for endografts <10% oversizing vs. 10% oversizing or more (p<.001), which reached a plateau at approximately 4 N after oversizing > 15%. The mean radial force of the proximal sealing stent was greater after remodelling with a compliant balloon (.55 ± .02 N v, De två första författarna delar förstaförfattarskapet