Aneurysmal evolution after stent-grafting for aortic dissection

This is an important book because it will contribute to the dissemination of up-to-date knowledge in a most significant area of cardiovascular medicine. Aortic dissection ranks amongst the worst potential catastrophes afflicting human beings in their lives. The acute mortality is very high, and those fortunate enough to survive are exposed to the development of life-threatening complications. And such risks are essentially life-long.“Conventional’ surgical treatment leaves much to be desired. This is especially true for acute type B dissections where operative intervention carries dangers of high morbidity and mortality. The advent of endovascular approaches and stent-graft technologies can appropriately be described as a ‘God-send’ for many patients who would not or could otherwise be offered any form of effective treatment whatsoever. And while endograft technologies and strategies continue to evolve and improve, the state-of-the-art is such that this type of less invasive intervention can be offered to and performed successfully on many patients at this time. Much progress and refinements will no doubt take place in the next several years. In the end, it can probably be predicted that endograft repair will likely replace standard surgery in most cases of thoracic aortic pathologies, except perhaps for those involving the ascending aorta and the whole of the aortic arch. But even for the latter, rapid progress and new ideas can be anticipated to develop in the very near future. The book “Thoracic aortic dissections & their endovascular treatment” edited by the MEET Directors has been planned to become a ‘how-to’ updated guide to all of the most significant aspects surrounding endograft intervention for treatment of thoracic dissections and other thoracic aortic diseases. The list of chapter authors reads like a “Who’s Who” in the field, worldwide.