Abdominal Aorta Aneurysm Repair(Archived)

Excerpt

Abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) repair is performed because the mortality rates are as high as 78% following rupture. Open and endovascular surgery are the two approaches utilized for AAA repair. Open repair is accomplished by either accessing the aorta through a transabdominal or retroperitoneal approach. The aorta is then cross-clamped, the aneurysm sac is next opened and graft in, then sewn within the aorta to exclude the aneurysmal portion. Finally, the aneurysm sac is closed over the graft. In contrast, an endovascular aortic repair is typically performed by accessing the femoral artery through either cut-down or percutaneous means. The endograft is then delivered over a wire in a retrograde fashion to the affected aortic segment and deployed with the use of fluoroscopic imaging. Main repair indications include a large aneurysm diameter (5 cm in females, 5.5 cm in males), rapid expansion, symptomatic aneurysm, and frank rupture.