The document discusses complications and limitations of the elephant trunk procedure for treating complex aortic aneurysms. Some key points:
- The elephant trunk procedure has acceptable short and long-term outcomes but carries risks of left recurrent nerve injury, aortic rupture early after surgery, and rupture before the second stage.
- Only 61% of patients underwent the planned second-stage repair, and some refused the second procedure.
- Alternatives like a single-stage approach or performing the distal anastomosis more distally can reduce risks but were not always favored in the past.
- Emerging techniques like using the elephant trunk graft to enable endovascular stent grafting of the descending aorta may address some limitations