Abstract
Cardiovascular surgeons at the Methodist DeBakey Heart Center have a long history of leadership in the treatment of aortic pathology, and nowhere is this leadership more apparent than with thoracoabdominal aneurysms (TAAs). The Methodist DeBakey Heart Center has more experience in treating TAAs than any other institution in the world. Yet despite our expertise and concentration of surgical experts, TAA repair remains complex and carries significant morbidity and mortality. The center’s success with endograft repair of infrarenal abdominal aortic aneurysm has led our team to extend these techniques to thoracoabdominal aneurysm repair in an effort to decrease the magnitude of this surgery.