LeMaitre Vascular, Inc announced the study confirming the use of LeMaitre's endovascular thoracic stent graft in the treatment of thoracic aortic aneurysms and dissections. Lefeng Qu and Dieter Raithel of Nuremberg Southern Hospital conducted the two-year study. LeMaitre Vascular's EndoFit Thoracic Stent Graft demonstrated 100% technical success in the study, a retrospective review of 87 patients undergoing endovascular repair of their thoracic aorta. Thirty-five percent of patients in the study were treated with custom-manufactured stent grafts. The device's cartridge-loading technique which reduces the number of delivery catheter insertions is required for multiple stent grafts. The company has recently launched its next-generation TAArget Thoracic Stent Graft in the European Union with a uniform top stent option for improved fixation within the aorta with new TT delivery system. The combination provides increased deployment precision and reduces blood loss during the procedure. Data from the study of 87 patients treated with the EndoFit stent graft for thoracic aneurysm or thoracic dissection between December 2005 and December 2007 were compiled. The majority of patients were deemed unfit for open surgery due to high-risk co-morbidities. Twenty percent of cases were performed emergently. The mean procedure duration was 40 minutes. The investigators conducted patient follow-up at one, three and six months and then annually. Patient follow-up averaged 15.2 months. There was no device-related death. There was no stent graft kinking, collapse or dislocation and no post-procedure rupture or conversion to open surgery. The study was sponsored by LeMaitre Vascular and conducted at Nuremberg Southern Hospital in Nuremberg where Prof. Raithel is Chief of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery.