A Second-Generation, Endoluminal, Flow-Disrupting Device for Treatment of Saccular Aneurysms

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: We report a preclinical study of a second-generation endoluminal device (Pipeline Embolization Device [PED-2] for aneurysmal occlusion and compare the PED-2 with its first-generation predecessor (PED-1). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Our Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee approved all studies. The PED-2 is a braided endoluminal, flow-diverting device and was implanted across the necks of 18 elastase-induced aneurysms in New Zealand white rabbits and followed for 1 month (n = 6), 3 months (n = 6), and 6 months (n = 6). A second PED-2 was implanted in the abdominal aorta to cover the origins of the lumbar arteries. Angiographic occlusion rates were documented as complete, near-complete, and incomplete. Parent artery percent diameter stenosis was calculated. Results were compared with a previous publication focused on the PED-1, with use of the same model. We compared ordinal outcomes using Fisher Exact or χ2 tests. We compared continuous data using analysis of variance. RESULTS: Occlusion rates (complete and incomplete) for the PED-2 were noted in 17 cases (94%) and 1 (6%), respectively, compared with 9 cases of complete (53%) and 8 (47%) of incomplete occlusion with the PED-1 (P = .0072). No incidents of branch artery occlusion or distal emboli in vessels downstream of the parent artery were observed with the PED-2. Parent artery neointimal hyperplasia was minimal in most cases and was significantly less than in the PED-1. CONCLUSIONS: The PED-2 is a biocompatible and hemocompatible device that occludes saccular aneurysms while preserving the parent artery and small-branch vessels in our animal model.