The stent graft expands inside the wall of the aorta and serves as a substitute channel to carry blood, bypassing the aneurysm to prevent a rupture. In the recent study, which involved 250 patients at 12 medical centers nationwide, Zarins and his colleagues found that the stent graft procedure had some major advantages over standard surgery, which can be risky and lead to major complications. People were up sooner, eating, walking and going home, and the complication rate is less. We had some patients who went home the morning after the procedure. Zarins presented the study results Monday, June 8, at the 46th scientific meeting of the North American Chapter of the International Society for Cardioascular Surgery, held in San Diego.
Aortic aneurysms can form as a result of advanced age, atherosclerosis or other conditions.
The aorta develops a bubble, similar to a weak spot on an old tire, Zarins said. The bubble can burst at any time. In the United States, half of all patients with untreated aneurysms die of a rupture within five years, Zarins said. Abdominal aortic aneurysms are the nation's 13th leading cause of death, killing some 15,000 Americans each year. The condition is more common in men, with approximately 5 percent of men over age 60 developing aortic aneurysms in the abdomen, Zarins said.