Procedures & Innovations
Endovascular Stent Graft Aortic Aneurysm Repair
Minimally Invasive Procedures
Endovascular Stent Graft Aortic Aneurysm Repair
Endovascular surgery is a relatively new technique that uses minimally invasive procedures to correct problems in blood vessels from within the vessels themselves. For aortic aneurysm repair, endovascular stent graft insertion is often used in patients whose overall health may make open surgery too dangerous. Studies of the procedure suggest that it carries a low risk of complications and has a very good success rate. It also has a significantly shorter recovery time than conventional treatment using open surgery aortic aneurysm repair.
Endovascular stent graft insertion may require only local or regional anaesthesia. With the use of a catheter inserted via an artery through a short incision in the groin, a stent graft made of a synthetic (man made) material is inserted into the aortic artery. Using x-ray imaging, the surgeon guides the stent graft through the catheter to the damaged area of the aorta. Using a small balloon, also inserted through the catheter, the stent graft is then expanded to sit snugly inside the artery. The stent graft provides a reinforced channel for the blood to flow and thereby reduces the pressure on the damaged area (aneurysm) of the artery. This, in turn, prevents the aneurysm from rupturing. At the end of the procedure, the catheter is removed. Patients generally go home the following day.
