Saint Barnabas Vascular Surgeon Performs Revolutionary
Minimally Invasive Thoracic Aortic Aneurysm Repair

Saint Barnabas Medical Center Attending Vascular Surgeon Michael Addis, M.D., performed a revolutionary, minimally invasive repair of a thoracic aortic aneurysm in a 79-year-old woman that if left untreated could have caused her death.

Using a GORE TAG Thoracic Endoprosthesis – a stent graft approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in March 2005 for treatment of patients with aneurysms of the descending thoracic aorta – Dr. Addis was able to repair the potentially life-threatening bulge in the woman’s main artery.

Because of the patient’s other significant health problems, she was at high risk of injury or death resulting from traditional open surgical repair of an aneurysm in the descending thoracic aorta. Dr. Addis chose an endovascular repair, a minimally invasive procedure in which the surgeon gains access to the aneurysm through small incisions.

“Dr. Addis is one of the first vascular surgeons in the state to perform this procedure and the outcome has been impressive,” reports Ronald Chamberlain, M.D., MPA, FACS, Chairman of the Department of Surgery and Surgeon-in-Chief of Saint Barnabas Medical Center. “It is a revolutionary step to treat thoracic aneurysms using a procedure that minimizes the hospital stay and avoids the need for open surgery. Saint Barnabas Medical Center is committed to bringing the best treatments to our patients using endovascular therapies.”

Dr. Addis says that the procedure offers great potential benefits for medically compromised patients who otherwise might not be able to undergo open surgical repair.

“Endovascular repair for thoracic aortic aneurysms is an excellent procedure,” says Dr. Addis. “In the high risk patient population, the risk of the traditional operation is up to 70 percent morbidity and 10 percent mortality. In this most recent case, the patient fell within this high risk category. With the endovascular procedure, she was able to leave the hospital in two days and was feeling so good after the procedure that she was surprised that we wanted to see her for a follow-up visit.”

Prior to approval of the stent graft, repair of thoracic aortic aneurysms was limited to traditional open surgical repair. In clinical trials comparing minimally invasive repairs of a thoracic aortic aneurysm with the open surgical repair, the patients repaired with endovascular surgery experienced fewer complications, significantly less procedural blood loss, a shortened hospital stay and a faster return to normal activity.

While open surgery requires anincision large enough to allow a synthetic graft to be sewn in place, theendovascular procedure precisely positions the stent in the diseased area of the aorta through a small incision made in the patient's groin under fluoroscopic guidance. The stent graft then expands to fit within the diameter of the aorta and excludes the aneurysm by providing a new path for blood.

Hospitalization for the open procedure is 7-10 days on the intensive care unit. Postoperative recovery takes several months and requires rehabilitation. With the endovascular procedure, patients have a 1-2 day hospital stay and a recovery of one to two weeks.

“Through our extensive experience with endovascular repair of complex abdominal aortic aneurysms, we have been able to extrapolate this knowledge and skill to thoracic endovascular repair, says Dr. Addis. “This same minimally invasive approach has a very beneficial impact on patients.”

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