Safe resection of the aortic wall Infiltrated by lung cancer after placement of an endoluminal prosthesis

Abstract BACKGROUND: Few investigators have reported the results of combined resection of lung cancer infiltrating the thoracic aorta; only anecdotal accounts of off-label use of thoracic aortic endografts to facilitate resection of such tumors have been published. In this paper, we describe our experience using this innovative approach in terms of technical details and outcomes. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed data on 9 patients (6 men and 3 women, median age 61 years) with preoperatively suspected thoracic aorta neoplastic invasion, who were operated on after positioning of an endograft and underwent en bloc tumor resection including the aortic wall. RESULTS: All but one cancer were non-small cell lung carcinomas; 4 patients received neoadjuvant chemotherapy, and 7 received adjuvant therapy. Aortic endografting was performed 2 to 17 days before resection of the tumor in 7 patients and as part of a one-stage procedure in 2 patients. The proximal end of the stent graft was dep