ZONE 2 VS ZONE 0: SURGICAL TECHNIQUE
In assessing whether proximalisation of aortic arch repair with FET
truly represents advancement, the surgical approaches for Zone 0 and
Zone 2 arch repair should be compared. Though surgical techniques for
both approaches vary between centres and devices, the procedure can be
summarised as involving four main phases: initiation, aortotomy,
prosthesis implantation, and rewarming.5 Techniques
for Zone 2 FET arch repair are widely documented and are broadly similar
to Zone 3 arch repair (Figure 1).5, 13, 14 In
contrast, arch repair can be achieved via two main approaches in Zone 0
FET, depending on the prosthetic device employed. These are examined
below.