Thoracic Aortic Surgery Research

Duke's internationally recognized thoracic aortic surgery program has a robust clinical research infrastructure and is among the country's leading centers in evaluating and implementing new techniques and technologies.

Important Duke-led research studies over the past 20 years include:

  • Published the seminal paper examining the incidence and outcomes for aortic dissection as a complication of cardiac surgery using the Society of Thoracic Surgeons Adult Cardiac Surgery Database
  • First described the concept of the “aortic dissection team” in 2014, a concept which has now been adopted worldwide as part of best practice for the care of patients with acute aortic syndromes
  • Among the first centers in the world to adopt thoracic endovascular repair for the treatment of chronic type B aortic dissections with associated descending aneurysms
  • First to describe the “TEVAR-first” strategy for complicated type A dissection with visceral malperfusion
  • First to identify several key risk factors for retrograde type A dissection during endovascular aortic repair
  • Developed the first evidence-based guidelines for the role of surveillance imaging after proximal aortic repair
  • Published the first and largest series detailing outcomes of carotid—subclavian bypass in the setting of thoracic endovascular aortic repair
  • Developed a new classification system for hybrid aortic arch repair and publication of the first-ever long-term outcomes of hybrid arch repair
  • Performance of the first-ever multicenter, randomized controlled trial comparing outcomes for different hypothermia techniques in aortic arch surgery
  • Developed a novel tailored approach to aortic arch repair after prior acute type A dissection repair
  • Introduction of the concept of stent graft-induced aortic wall injury (SAWI) and identification of risk factors for its occurrence
  • Identified the root phenotype as carrying a higher risk of aortic dissection than the ascending phenotype using data from the International Registry of Acute Aortic Dissection Database
  • Developed a highly-cited algorithm regarding the use of left subclavian artery revascularization and cerebrospinal fluid drainage in thoracic endovascular aortic repair
  • Played a leading role in developing the 2020 Society for Vascular Surgery/Society of Thoracic Surgeons reporting standards for type B aortic dissections