On April 14-15, the 7th Siberian International Aortic Symposium took place in Novosibirsk. Vascular surgeons from Almazov Centre were invited as speakers and presented their experience with endovascular aortic arch repair. Dr. Mikhail Chernyavsky, Head of the Research Department of Vascular and Interventional Surgery, gave a presentation on the experience of such procedures performed by a team of vascular surgeons at Almazov Centre. The audience engaged in a lively discussion on the technical and organisational features of the procedures, the advantages of using a 3D printed aortic model, as well as the great need for endovascular and hybrid techniques for the treatment of aortic disease, ways to popularise such techniques and the need to organise expert teams in all major federal centres of the country with the support from the Russian Ministry of Health in order to increase the accessibility and improve the quality of treatment for this complex group of patients.
Currently, the scope of minimally invasive endovascular surgery for the aorta and peripheral arteries is growing steadily in Russia. In 2021, 456 procedures were performed in our country. This is a small number, considering that a larger number of such procedures is needed, which is about 8,500. Almazov Centre is actively developing endovascular and hybrid surgery techniques. More than 100 endovascular aortic arch repairs were performed in 2022, and the number of procedures using this technique is increasing. Almazov Centre uses the most advanced techniques, such as high-frequency right ventricular pacing, routine use of 3D navigation, aortic arch modelling for intraoperative fenestration of stent grafts. Also important is the international collaboration of vascular surgeons from the Research Department of Vascular and Interventional Surgery with colleagues from China (Professor Chang Shu from the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College) and the United Arab Emirates (Professor Firas Raouf Alani from the Heart and Vascular Centre at the American Hospital Dubai) in the context of specialist training, internships, master classes and international registries.
The Siberian International Aortic Symposium is held annually at Meshalkin National Medical Research Centre. The event featured surgical broadcasts with real-time comments from surgeons. Russian and foreign experts from Germany, the UK and Belgium gave lectures and shared their experience of using different methods to treat aortic disease. There is no doubt that events of this level make an invaluable contribution to improving the skills and professionalism of trainees, thus contributing to solving a number of problems of patients with aortic disease.