Conformable Gore® TAG® Thoracic Endoprosthesis for the treatment of thoracic aortic aneurysms

Traditional open repair of descending thoracic aortic aneurysms is effective, although potentially associated with significant perioperative mortality and morbidity, including paraplegia, stroke, renal failure and pulmonary dysfunction. However, advances in endograft design now allow the majority of these aneurysms to be repaired via endovascular means. The Gore® TAG® Thoracic Endoprosthesis (WL Gore and Associates, AZ, USA) was the first US FDA-approved (March 2005) endovascular stent graft for the treatment of descending thoracic aneurysms. The device has been well studied in numerous clinical trials and real-world clinical series, and has been shown to be safe and effective for the treatment of this pathology. Durability has been demonstrated with greater than 5 years of clinical follow-up. These characteristics have led to the expanded use of this device for the treatment of other descending thoracic aortic pathologies, including aortic dissection and blunt traumatic injury. This article reviews the Gore TAG Thoracic Endoprosthesis, including its design, applications, clinical trial outcomes and real-world clinical outcomes. © 2013 Future Medicine Ltd.

Duke Scholars

Author George Charles Hughes IV Surgery, Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery