Aortic Aneurysm Surgery

What is Aortic Aneurysm?
An aortic aneurysm is a weakened and bulging area in the aorta, the major blood vessel that feeds blood to the body.
Depending on the size of the aneurysm and on other factors, your doctor may recommend that surgery will be done.

How can Aortic Aneurysm be treated?
Currently the only effective treatment for aortic aneurysm is surgery. A patch or artificial piece of blood vessel is sewn where the aneurysm was to reinforce the aorta so that it does not burst again.

Open aneurysm repair:
A open abdominal or open chest surgery which involves removing the damaged section of the aorta and replacing it with a synthetic tube (graft), which is sewn into place.

Endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR):
surgery is performed from within your aorta using catheters (thin long tubes). The catheters are entered through small incisions in the groin, and are used to guide and deliver a synthetic graft through the blood vessels to the site of the aneurysm. The graft reinforces the weakened section of the aorta to prevent rupture of the aneurysm.

Success rate
The success rate of stent grafts to treat Thoracic aortic aneurysms has risen to 90 percent. Although the recovery time is reduced by endovascular procedure to less than two weeks as opposed to one to two months with open abdominal repair, it still carries risk. Patients who have repair of their aortic aneurysms with stent grafts will need to be examined every six months initially, to ensure that no problems are initiating. One need to stay for 3-5 days in the hospital after the surgery, depending on the type of procedure adopted. Most often, the recovery from this procedure is swift and comparatively painless than with open surgery.

How much time is required?
The procedure requires 7 days at the hospital

What type of anesthesia will be given?
General anesthesia

How will patient recover?
After an open surgery it can take you between 4 weeks to 3 months to fully recover. Endovascular surgery requires shorter recovery time.

What should be cared?
During the hospital stay, you may: Be in the intensive care unit (ICU), where you will be scrutinized.
Have a urinary catheter
Be given medicines to thin your blood to ensure swift flow
Encouraged to sit on the side of the bed and then walk
Wear special stockings to prevent blood clots in your legs
Take pain killers into the veins or into the space that surrounds your spinal cord