A CUSTOM-FITTED APPROACH TO A TRICKY ANEURYSM REPAIR A new procedure offered at University Hospital provides a minimally invasive option for the treatment of patients with aortic aneurysms - a dangerous weakening or ballooning in the wall of the aorta. The aorta is the longest artery in the body, and a weakening can occur anywhere along it. But when the weakening occurs close to where the arteries to the kidneys branch off, the repair typically requires a complex and extensive open surgery. Some patients considered too frail to handle such a major operation have had no other options. The new procedure, called fenestrated endovascular aneurysm repair, or FEVAR, is a newly approved graft that is custom-fitted to the patient's anatomy, inserted into the femoral arteries in the legs and routed to the aneurysm by catheter. The graft acts much like a pipe, channeling blood flow past the weakened area. The customized openings in the graft, called fenestrations, allow blood to flow from the heart to the kidneys. Recovery time and return to normal activities are faster. And the procedure can be an option for patients who aren't good candidates for open surgery. Dr. Georges Haidar, assistant professor of vascular and endovascular surgery at the the University of Texas Health Science Center, describes FEVAR as a real step forward, one that offers fewer complications, faster healing and much less time spent recovering in the hospital. Dr. Haidarwas the lead surgeon on the first patient to undergo the procedure at University Hospital in November 2015, and the first FEVAR procedure at a local nonmilitary hospital.
2016 See How We See Annual Report
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