Due to the complexity of their disease, approximately 20 percent of patients with abdominal aortic aneurysms are not appropriate candidates for conventional endovascular repair. In addition, complex aortic aneurysms can involve both the chest and the stomach areas (thoracoabdominal aneurysms) and the aortic arch (curved portion of the aorta).
Some of these patients may be suitable for conventional open surgical repair, but often, this is not a viable option for those with certain health conditions or with large aneurysms — especially when the aneurysm involves a portion of the aorta where arteries branch off toward the kidneys and other organs. For these patients, a new minimally invasive treatment is now available at Emory called fenestrated and branched endograft implantation.
Fenestrated and branched endografts are stents (small metal scaffolds or tubes) that have reinforced openings (fenestrations) or branches that allow the physician to attach arteries that lead to other organs. The endograft is delivered to the site of the aneurysm using a catheter (thin, flexible tube) inserted through the skin in the groin area and threaded through a blood vessel.
Fenestrated endografts are now commercially available. In late 2012, Emory vascular surgeons Yazan Duwayri, MD, and Ravi Veeraswamy, MD, performed Georgia’s first implantation of a U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Fenestrated Endovascular Graft, for the minimally invasive treatment of AAAs that involve the renal arteries.
In addition to being a safe and effective option for high-risk patients, fenestrated and branched endograft implantation provides patients with a number of benefits, including:
- Small or no incisions
- Shorter hospital stays (one or two days vs. 10-14 days for open surgical repair)
- Quicker recovery
The fenestrated and branched aortic stent graft program established at Emory University Hospital is part of a broader effort led by veteran Emory vascular surgeons Ravi K. Veeraswamy, MD and Yazan Duwayri, MD to provide comprehensive surgical and endovascular treatment options for a full range of aortic aneurysm presentations.
For more information, please call 404-778-3712.