Left untreated, the aneurysm may rupture unexpectedly and bleed, causing death in up to 80 percent of patients. In endovascular surgery, the aneurysm is repaired from inside the aorta using a catheter instead of through a large incision extending over the entire abdomen. Since the endovascular surgery is minimally invasive, it eliminates the need for a large abdominal incision and allows the patient to go home earlier. Calif. In endovascular surgery, a catheter containing a collapsed polyester tube is inserted into the patient's femoral artery and moved to the site of the aneurysm. Once inside the aneurysm, a spring-type attachment system hooks the tube to the inside walls of the artery on either end of the aneurysm and is anchored into place.
Blood then flows through the polyester implant, cutting off the supply of blood to the aneurysm.
The study included 50 patients who underwent the endovascular procedure. Three patients had to be converted to open surgery because of difficulty with the procedure. One high-risk patient had a fatal heart attack three days after surgery. Almost 90 percent of the patients were discharged within two or three days compared with 5.8 days for open procedure patients. At a mean follow-up of eight months, all of the remaining patients are doing well.