Selection Criteria
Studies providing outcomes of the FET procedure were included in the
meta-analysis. The FET procedure used for total arch replacement (TAR)
among various aortic pathologies (acute dissection, chronic dissection,
and aneurysm) in which the open sternotomy was carried out. Inclusion
criteria included studies reporting more than 20 patients undergoing the
FET procedure and providing data for postoperative outcomes. Studies
were excluded if they included a case report, or small case series,
reviews, or editorials. Institutions that published duplicate studies
with accumulating numbers of patients or increased lengths of follow-up,
only the most complete reports were included for quantitative assessment
at each time interval. Publications from overlapped or duplicated
populations were also excluded. Studies from the same center were used
in the review if the report had the highest sample size with no
overlapped participants. IRB approval was not required as our study did
not involve human contact or require patient consent, as the data
analysed are available online via public repositories.