Tober said that 30 to 40 percent of aneurysm patients are candidates for the new procedure. They are evaluated for the size, shape and location of the aneurysm by ultrasound, computerized tomography scan, MRI, and arteriogram before a determination is made. The new procedure allows a chance for people with other health problems, such as lung disease, to have surgery because they couldn t handle it the other way because more anatomy remains intact, Tober said. Currently Tober and Khabiri are the only team at the medical center doing the surgery, but Tober expects more to be qualified soon. So far they have successfully used it on four patients and the results have been positive.
Patients love it.
To see the difference in them when compared with the open procedure, they are completely different. They just look better. They usually don t have to go to the intensive care unit either, they can go straight to another monitored unit, Tober said. Tober said that similar procedures are being developed for aneurysms located in the chest and legs. Endovascular surgery is very exciting right now.