Endovascular and Conventional Treatment of Thoracic Aortic Aneurysms: A Comparison of Costs

Costs of endovascular stent-graft placement in patients with thoracic aortic aneurysms compare favorably with conventional surgical therapy, revealing a cost benefit of 24.7%. Higher procedural costs are outweighed by a lower number of days of care. Nevertheless, aneurysm-related secondary endovascular or surgical procedures may balance the benefit of endovascular therapy. Which strategy to choose, conventional or endovascular, should remain to be based on age, comorbidity, and technical feasibility.