Periprosthetic leak and rupture after endovascular repair of abdominal aortic aneurysm: The significance of device design for long-term results

We present a case of abdominal aortic aneurysm treated with an endovascular bifurcated aortic graft in which a periprosthetic leak caused by a tear in the polyester prosthesis appeared between 9 and 12 months after surgery. The tear appeared adjacent to a suture breakage that caused separation of two struts of the nitinol wire framework in the body of the stent graft. The leak was sealed with insertion of a new endovascular tube graft into the body of the bifurcation. Eight months later, the patient had a nonfatal rupture of the abdominal aortic aneurysm because detachment of the second limb from the bifurcation caused a new major periprosthetic leak. According to the manufacturer of this device, suture breakage with separation of metal components is commonly seen, but perforation of the polyester prosthesis caused by movement of the metal stent against the fabric has not been reported. It is likely that this occurred in our patient. Detachment of the second limb from the bifurcated stent, causing a rupture, has been described before. Increasing angulation and tortuosity of the stent graft, as a result of either remodeling of the sac or elongation of the stent, and reduced compliance to angulation after the stent-in-stent procedure might have contributed to the detachment in this case. (J Vasc Surg 1999;29:1152-8.)