The Retrograde-Access Gutter Snare (RAGS) Technique: A Bailout Maneuver to Maintain Patency of the Left Subclavian Artery in Fenestrated TEVAR

This technical note describes the retrograde-access gutter snare (RAGS) technique that can provide a successful bailout maneuver for fenestrated TEVAR (fTEVAR) devices. The RAGS technique offers an approach to be used with precannulated custom-made or physician-modified fTEVAR devices in which wire wrap or wire entanglement precludes access through the fenestration after deployment of the main body device. Instead of traditional attempts at de novo cannulation of the fenestration from upper extremity or femoral access, the maneuver offers an approach to maintaining through-and-through access to facilitate snaring a new wire proximal to the leading edge of the main body fabric, which can then be used to deliver a covered stent into the fenestration from either the upper extremity or femoral access. This technique offers an added benefit of potentially realigning malrotated fenestrations via tensioning of the new through-and-through wire.