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Vascular Institute of Chicago at Weiss Memorial Hospital is among the few select sites in the United States approved by the FDA to employ an innovative minimally invasive device for the treatment of aneurysms involving the abdominal aorta below the renal arteries.
Aneurysms are a local dilation of the abdominal aorta and generally grow gradually over time. The risk of rupture increases with the size of the aneurysm; for example, if the aneurysm is 5-6 centimeters in diameter, the risk of rupture is 20 percent per year. Over the past 40 years, the number of individuals harboring abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA) has risen threefold.
Hisham Bassiouny, M.D., chief of vascular surgery and endovascular surgery at the University of Chicago and vascular surgeon at the Vascular Institute of Chicago at Weiss is one of just a few surgeons trained nationwide in employing a recently FDA-approved stent graft device for the minimally invasive treatment of AAAs. Using small incisions in the groin area of each extremity, catheters are introduced into the aneurysm sac to release a stent graft that seals the AAA from the circulation.
This less invasive approach or endovascular repair of AAA requires careful patient selection with custom fabrication of the stent graft. This will fit the individual shape and size of the aneurysm.
Conventional treatment of AAA involves a large incision in the abdomen and replacement of the aneurysm sac by a prosthetic (Dacron or Teflon) graft. Open surgery requires a hospital stay of at least five to seven days and a recovery time that can last up to three months.
In contrast to conventional surgery, this less invasive endovascular procedure provides substantial patient benefits, such as reduced trauma from surgery, one to two day hospital stay, less blood loss and fewer cardiac and pulmonary complications. As with all procedures there are some risks. In less than three percent of patients undergoing stent grafting of AAA, conversion to an open procedure may be necessary because of sub-optimal positioning of the stent graft or leakage of blood into the sac around the device.