Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm

The aorta is the main blood vessel coming from the heart that supplies blood to all organs, and an abdominal aortic aneurysm is the ballooning of the aorta. Aneurysms may occur in any blood vessel in the body, but the most common place is in the abdomen below the renal arteries.

Aneurysms may continue to grow larger until like a balloon, it can then burst or rupture. Aneurysm ruptures can be life-threatening events. The goal of all aneurysm treatment is to prevent the aorta from rupturing.

Diagnosis:

• Routine physical examination of abdomen
• Abdominal ultrasound
• Abdominal CT (computerized tomography) scan

Treatment:

• Observation: Asymptomatic small aneurysms of less than 5 cm may safely be observed.
• Open surgery: This is a traditional surgical procedure with an incision made on the abdomen. Hospital stay is 5-8 days.
• Endovascular: This is new minimally invasive endovascular procedure. Most of the time aneurysm is repaired by stent graft through two small groin incisions under regional anesthesia. Patient generally goes home in 24-48 hours.