Methods
The analysis includes all patients who underwent elective aortic arch surgery at our institution from January 2010 to December 2020. To assess the impact of the surgical learning curve the study population was divided into group A consisting of patients operated during the first 5 years, and group B, including patients operated during the subsequent 5 years. Both groups were compared with regard to baseline characteristics, scope of the surgery, operative and postoperative data as well as morbidity and mortality.