Objectives: Despite continuous advancements in the surgical treatments for thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysms (TAAA), paraplegia remains a devastating treatment-related complication. We aimed to summarize our experience with a novel surgical strategy involving maintenance of high blood pressure and early establishment of pulsatile blood flow to the spinal cord. Materials and Methods: Between August 2011 and October 2017, 29 patients (age, 67 ± 12 years) underwent open surgery for TAAA. According to the Crawford classification, two aneurysms were type I, eight were type II, 12 were type III, and seven were type IV. We used partial cardiopulmonary bypass under mild hypothermia in all patients except one. By maintaining distal aortic perfusion pressure at 60 - 80 mmHg and creating the distal aortic anastomosis before visceral branch reconstruction, we established early perfusion of the hypogastric arteries with native pulsatile flow. Intraoperative spinal monitoring and cerebrospinal fluid drainage were performed in 26 (90%) and 23 (79%) patients, respectively. Nineteen patients (66%) underwent reconstruction of the intercostal arteries. During perioperative management, the mean arterial pressure was kept >80 mmHg. Results: No in-hospital deaths or acute neurological complications occurred. One patient (3.4%) experienced delayed temporal paraplegia. During follow-up, aorta-related death occurred in only one patient, who developed prosthetic vascular graft infection but did not undergo repeat graft replacement. The 3-year freedom from aortic-related death was 95%. Conclusion: Our surgical strategy involving maintenance of high blood pressure and early establishment of pulsatile flow to the spinal cord was effective in preventing spinal cord injury following open surgery for TAAA.
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