A three-year experience with the balloon expandable GORE VIABAHN VBX in the treatment of thoraco-abdominal aortic aneurysms within the EXPAND trial.

OBJECTIVE

The EXPAND registry is a post-market, multicenter registry that aims at evaluating the safety and performance of the GORE VIABAHN VBX balloon expandable endoprosthesis (VBX stent) implanted in peripheral vessels. This subgroup analysis assesses the 3-year outcomes of the VBX stent as a bridging stent graft for visceral vessels during branched endovascular aortic repair.

METHODS

This prospective, multicenter, observational registry includes 16 European sites. Patients were enrolled from November 2018 to March 2022. Endpoints included 3-year primary patency (PP), secondary patency (SP), and stent graft-related death and serious adverse events.

RESULTS

Seventy-three patients, of whom 57 (78.1%) were male, with a mean age of 73 years (±8.1 years) were included. At 3 years, 42 patients (57.5%) returned for follow-up. Overall, 223 target vessels (TVs) were treated. The estimated freedom from loss of TV PP was 93.6%. Per TV PP rates were 97.0% for the celiac trunk, 93.9% for the superior mesenteric artery, 91.2% for the left renal artery, and 92.5% for the right renal artery. The overall estimated freedom from loss of SP was 96.8%, and freedom from TV instability was 94.5%.

CONCLUSIONS

The VBX stent demonstrated excellent sustained results at 3 years with almost 94% PP, 97% SP, and 94.5% freedom from TV instability. Patency in the renal arteries was lower than in the celiac trunk and superior mesenteric artery. The VBX stent appears to be a reliable bridging stent for target vessels in branched endovascular aortic repair.