A 71-year-old male, who had been submitted to EVAR with a bifurcated Talent endoprosthesis in 2006 for a 5,5 cm AAA, was admitted to the emergency department reporting sudden onset of abdominal pain with lumbar radiation and a history of a brief loss of consciousness one hour earlier. He was found to be hypotensive and tachycardic (BP: 90/60 mmHg, Bpm: 110/min, RR: 22/min, and SpO2: 95%). Hgb level was significantly decreased (8,5 g/dl) and a pulsatile mass was prominent upon clinical examination. The patient's medical history included chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, myocardial infarction with heart failure, chronic renal failure, hypertension, and smoking. The high clinical suspicion of ruptured AAA was verified with CT scan. Contrast media had to be avoided due to severe renal failure. A leaking 9 cm AAA with a huge retroperitoneal hematoma was depicted (). The Talent stent-graft was migrated () and the proximal sealing was lost, leading to potential type I endoleak, sac enlargement, and rupture. At this point, no further information was available from the CT scan (unenhanced). Endoluminal reintervention was immediately scheduled with the use of a proximal aortic extension. The procedure was carried out in an operating room equipped with a portable C-arm (Siremobil 2000, Siemens, Erlangen, Germany) under local anesthesia. Bilateral femoral arteries were surgically exposed in standard fashion. Heparin (5000 IU) was administered intravenously. Initial angiography verified the hypothesis of migration and endoleak. The Talent was migrated 2 cm distally to the left (lower) renal artery, the proximal sealing was lost, and a huge type Ia endoleak was shown (). Based upon the CT measurements and the intraoperative data, a 28 mm in diameter × 60 mm in length Ankura (LifeTech, Inc., China) aortic extender with 15 mm bare stent was deployed () to bridge the proximal aortic neck (estimated 24 mm in diameter × 15 mm in length) with the migrated Talent body (26 mm in diameter × 50 mm in length tubular segment). Postdeployment angiography showed that the type Ia endoleak was sealed and the aortic extender was correctly placed just below the left renal artery. To our surprise, contrast media continued to be visible in a different fashion from the initial angiography outside the Talent endograft restricted at the level of its bifurcation (). When we inflated a molding balloon thinking that it was a leak in between the Ankura extender and the Talent body, a fabric tear became apparent near the stent-graft bifurcation () feeding the endoleak. The balloon was removed and a guide wire was meticulously passed through the fabric opening to verify the fabric tear and the type IIIb endoleak (). Two Ankura limbs, 16-16 × 100, were inserted and simultaneously deployed as parallel kissing endografts. The proximal 6 cm of the parallel endografts was positioned above the Talent bifurcation within the Ankura cuff and the distal 4 cm inside each Talent limb below the Talent bifurcation () to ensure adequate sealing of the fabric tear. Kissing balloon technique followed using two 14 × 40 PTA Atlas balloons (Bard Peripheral Vascular Inc., AZ, USA) inflated at 4 atm. Completion of DSA verified endoleak resolution, renal and iliac artery patency, and proper endograft deployment. The patient recovered fully and was released on the 7th postoperative day with no further renal deterioration and increased Hgb level (11,5 g/dl). The patient was readmitted in another hospital in the 40th postoperative day due to pulmonary edema. Ultimately he died due to heart failure and his death had no relation to the AAA. The report of this man's case was approved by the institutional review board.
An eighty-one-year-old male visited the clinic complaining of abdominal pain along with pulsating mass. He had been diagnosed with infrarenal aortic aneurysm and this was treated with EVAR 6 years previously. After EVAR, a gradual increasing of the aneurysm sac was found without evidence of any type of endoleak. Eventually, the aneurysm reached a diameter of 9.7 cm on the computed tomography (CT) angiography and abdominal pain redeveloped. CT angiography showed a huge aortic aneurysm without evidence of endoleak, and it was considered that this was due to endotension.\nCT-guided sac aspiration was performed through the translumbar puncture of the aneurysm sac, and 400 mL of a dark brown-colored liquid was aspirated (). CT scan was performed the day after the puncture and the sac shrunk back to its original size (). Abdominal pain subsided and the palpating mass disappeared. One month after the aspiration, a CT scan was retaken, and the scan showed that the aneurysm sac increased back to the size before the aspiration (). Additionally, the scan showed no signs of endoleak. A second aspiration was performed again, and a further 300 mL of the dark brown colored fluid was aspirated. During the second aspiration, small amounts of contrast media was administered through the lumbar puncture site in order to search for the presence of collateral flow induced endoleak and to detect any possible rupture of the aneurysm sac. But no contrast media leakage from the sac was found, and no endoleak was found. So it was concluded that the increase of the aneurismal sac was due to endotension.\nFinally, with the consent of the patient, the endovascular relining technique was performed on the patient to treat the endotension. Since the diameter of the main body of the original endograft was 28 mm, it was planned that the relining process would be carried out by inserting two customized, tubular stent-grafts each of 14 mm in diameter. The length of the relining stent-graft was calculated to cover not only the whole length of the original stent-graft but to cover the entire growing sac. The patient was put under general anesthesia, and both common femoral arteries were punctured and selection of both limbs of the original stent-graft was attempted. Unexpectedly, the guide wire escaped from the junction area of the left module to the aneurysm sac. Upon inspection, a modular disconnection was found at the left graft junction area resulting in large amounts of leakage from the disconnected area. The original main body was selected with difficulty, and two 14-mm- × 12-cm-sized stent-grafts were successfully implanted within the original endograft (). Ancillary attachment between the original and the new stent-grafts was made with a compliant balloon. A final aortogram was performed and no endoleak was detected and the leakage from the modular disconnection disappeared after the endovascular relining. The day after the procedure, CT angiography showed no endoleak but retroperitoneal hematoma around the aneurysm sac was found. It was determined that the contained aneurismal sac rupture and the retroperitoneal hematoma were caused by the leakage from the modular disconnection.\nSerial review of the plain x-rays taken since the initial EVAR 6 years prior showed very subtle but gradual modular migration unnoticeable by eye, and complete disconnection developed within 5 days between the day of the second aspiration and the relining procedure. It was determined that the modular disconnection was a result of the aspiration (). The patient showed no symptoms or signs of aneurysm sac rupture after the procedure and was discharged with no further complications. CT scan taken four months after the relining procedure showed no endoleak and the size of the aneurysm sac decreased from 9.7 to 9.3 cm.