The open surgery requires a large incision from just below the breastbone to the top of the pubic bone. Surgeons then clamp the aorta, cut out the bulge and replace it with a small piece of polyester tubing. The new procedure requires only a small incision in the groin, and a catheter is threaded through a blood vessel leading to the aneurysm. An implanted stent made out of woven polyester is then used to repair the inner walls of weak blood vessels, preventing them from bursting and causing death. By using the new approach, patients are staying in the hospital for two to three days, instead of a week or longer with the old surgery.
Patients also lose half as much blood with the endovascular technique.
The open surgery requires up to several months to fully recover. Both surgeries take two to three hours to complete. For the patient, there is less pain and discomfort during recovery when the implant is used. I anticipate most patients will be able to resume a normal lifestyle, even work, much sooner than if they had major surgery to make the repair, said Dr. J. Chadwick Tober, a vascular surgeon at the medical center. Once the tip of the catheter is next to the bulge, it is inflated by a balloon that is then withdrawn from the catheter.