The abdomen is opened through a large incision, the aorta is clamped, causing significant stress on the heart, and the graft is sutured in place.
Potential complications are heart attack, death, stroke, and possibly infection.
Post-operative recovery usually requires at least one week in hospital and two to three months before the patient is fully recovered back to normal activities. The new endovascular repair requires only two small incisions in the groin area - the abdomen is not opened and the aorta is not clamped. The synthetic graft is seated within the aneurysm and held in place in the aorta by means of a stent built into the graft. Thus, blood flow through the aneurysm is excluded and eventual rupture is prevented. This new technique is much less stressful, significantly reducing the risk of peri-operative heart attack or death.