An abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) is a potentially fatal balloon-like swelling of a segment of the aorta, the largest artery in the body. Our vascular experts perform minimally invasive repair of AAA.
What is stent grafting?
In an abdominal aortic stent graft procedure, your doctor guides a catheter through a small incision in the upper thigh through the large blood vessel to the site of the aortic aneurysm in the abdomen. Once it is properly positioned, the stent graft (a woven polyester tube covered by a tubular metal web) is released from the delivery catheter, which is then withdrawn. The stent graft remains in place and allows blood to flow through the stent, entirely bypassing the aneurysm, and substantially reducing the risk of rupture. This less invasive procedure can decrease length of stay and recovery time significantly
Traditional AAA repair is an open-abdomen (or open-chest) surgery. The bulging aneurysm part of the aorta is removed, an artificial graft is put in its place, and the remaining aortic end-pieces are reattached to the graft.
Guided by sophisticated imaging technology, interventional cardiologists thread a stent through the artery and graft the weakened area to minimize the risk of rupture.