Endovastec™ recently announced the first commercial use of its Cratos™ Thoracic Branch Stent Graft System (Cratos™) in Hungary. The procedure was performed by Dr. Gabor Kasza, Dr. Gabor Fazekas, and their team at University of Pecs Medical School in Pecs, Hungary.

The patient, a 68-year-old male, was diagnosed with a Penetrating Atherosclerotic Ulcer (PAU) in proximity of the left subclavian artery (LSA). Standard stent grafting would have required coverage of the LSA with need for bypass or debranching of the side vessel, which could increase the risk of surgical or neurological complications.

Based on preoperative imaging and measurements, the clinical team, who was already familiar with the Castor™ Branched Aortic Stent Graft System(Castor™), planned for a personalized custom-made solution utilizing Cratos™ stent graft system. This approach allowed to extend the proximal landing zone to the left common carotid artery (LCCA) achieving effective sealing in the aortic arch while maintaining perfusion of the LSA without need for surgery or off-label techniques.

Following the procedure, Dr. Kasza highlighted the improvements of the delivery system for its precise deployment mechanism and intuitive steps, the reduced profile and the new Active Birdbeak Control system, which enables to control and, if needed, correct the orientation of the proximal end of the device.

Cratos™ is the second generation single branched thoracic stent graft system, evolution of Castor™, the world’s first unibody branched thoracic stent graft specifically designed for the treatment of the distal aortic arch. Cratos™ has been approved for clinical use in Europe as a custom-made device under the EU Medical Device Regulation (MDR). This milestone follows the first clinical use of Cratos™ in other European countries like Germany, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, the Netherlands, and Denmark.

This article does not constitute any form of medical advice or product promotion. For any medical diagnostic issues, please be sure to consult qualified healthcare professionals.