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What Is Endovascular Stent Grafting? Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm (AAA)

Overview

Abdominal aortic aneurysms can weaken the aorta, your body’s largest blood vessel. This can develop into a potentially serious heath problem that can be fatal if the aneurysm bursts, causing massive internal bleeding.

Your aorta runs from your heart and through your abdomen.

Endovascular stent grafting, or endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR), is a newer form of treatment for abdominal aortic aneurysm that is less invasive than open surgery. Endovascular stent grafting uses an endovascular stent graft to reinforce the wall of the aorta and to help keep the damaged area from rupturing.

The word endovascular refers to the area inside of a blood vessel such as the aorta. With endovascular stent graft therapy an endovascular stent graft is placed inside of your abdominal aorta to help protect the aneurysm from rupturing.

The stent graft is placed inside of the aortic aneurysm with the help of a long, very thin, soft, plastic tube called a delivery catheter. The delivery catheter contains the compressed stent graft.

Here is how the endovascular stent graft is placed in the aortic aneurysm*:

  1. The catheter is inserted into an artery in the leg near the groin.
    Delivery catheter is inserted through the vessel into the aneurysm to guide the stent into place.
  2. Using advanced imaging methods, the surgeon guides the delivery catheter carrying the stent graft to the area of the abdominal aortic aneurysm.
  3. Once the stent graft is in position, the surgeon fastens it into place and removes the delivery catheter.
  4. The endovascular stent graft is placed inside the abdominal aorta to help keep the aneurysm from bursting.

Comparing Endovascular and Open Surgery

Endovascular stent grafting and open surgery grafting are both done to prevent an abdominal aortic aneurysm from rupturing. The difference is that the endovascular stent graft is put into place inside the aneurysm without removing any tissue from your aorta, and it does not require open-chest or open-abdominal surgery.

Because it is less invasive than open surgery, the recovery time for endovascular stent grafting may be faster. Usually, the patient can return home within a week and return to normal activities in 4 to 6 weeks.1

1

https://surgery.ucsf.edu/conditions--procedures/endovascular-aneurysm-repair.aspx