New Procedure Revolutionizing Aneurysm Repair

If you smoke, have high blood pressure or cholesterol or are over age 65, there's a chance you may be among the first generation to benefit from a new procedure recently approved by the FDA to repair aortic aneurysms, according to Dr. Wade Rosenberg, a vascular surgeon with Texas Surgical Associates in Houston.

Termed "endovascular repair of an abdominal aortic aneurysm" the procedure is proving to be an unprecedented breakthrough in their treatment by dramatically reducing complications and recovery time.

Dr. Rosenberg describes an aortic aneurysm as being a weak spot in the main artery leading from the heart that fills with blood - much like a tire inner tube would bulge in a weak spot when filled with air. These aneurysms most commonly occur in the abdomen and chest areas and, when left undetected and untreated, can rupture. When this happens the mortality rate is an alarmingly high 50-70 percent.

"The advantage of this procedure over the traditional method is that instead of making a long incision in the patient's abdomen, we simply make two small incisions in the arteries leading from the groin, much like what is done for patients undergoing balloon angioplasty," Dr. Rosenberg says. "Attached is a graft, or what we call a stent, with two limbs covered in a self-expanding wire mesh. When it reaches the site of the aneurysm, it is deployed and attaches itself to the walls of the arteries, excluding the flow of blood from the aneurysm."

Patients undergoing the stent procedure face just a two-day hospital stay and a recovery period of seven to 10 days, versus those recipients of the traditional method of surgery who face anywhere from an eight to 10-day hospitalization and a two month recovery period, Dr. Rosenberg adds.

But detecting abdominal aneurysms in the first place can be tricky since they are asymptomatic often until it is too late and can masquerade as lower back or general abdominal pain.

Since the FDA approval of the procedure in December, Dr. Rosenberg has already repaired several abdominal aortic aneurysms utilizing the method.

- From Texas Surgical Associates

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©2006 Texas Medical Center

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