• Press Center
• Press Release Archive
• Media Kit
• Medicare AAA Screening Benefit
• Press Releases from 2008 Annual Meeting
• JVS Press Releases
• SVS Position Statements
• Contact Us

Home > Press Center > Press Releases from 2005 Annual Meeting > Aorta Continues to Enlarge Near Site of Aneurysm Repair

Contact:
Jill Goodwin
Director of Communications
312-334-2308

Portions of the thoracic aortic artery adjacent to the site of a repaired aneurysm continue to enlarge over time, according to research presented at the annual meeting of the Society for Vascular Surgery in Chicago. Continued monitoring of those adjacent portions of the aorta is recommended, said Dr. Heitham T. Hassoun of Northwestern University, Chicago.

Dr. Hassoun and associates studied 142 patients who underwent endovascular stent graft repair of aneurysms in the descending thoracic aorta. They used contrast-enhanced high-resolution CT scanning to visualize the repair site as well as the immediately adjacent portions of the artery, using computerized planimetry to carefully measure the diameter of the vessel. Over the course of 3 years, both the portion of the artery above the aneurysm (proximal) and the portion below it (distal) “showed a small but progressive degree of dilation.” Significant dilation that would require intervention was rare. “Nevertheless it would be prudent to continue to monitor” these adjacent areas of the aorta as well as the graft site itself, the researcher said.

The author notes that a previous study has shown that the aneurysm itself gets smaller over time after endovascular repair with the GORE TAG device.

The aorta is the largest artery in the body and carries blood away from the heart to supply all the other parts of the body. The thoracic aorta is the portion of that artery that runs through the chest. When a weak area in this portion of the artery expands or bulges, it is called a thoracic aortic aneurysm. An aneurysm can stretch the artery much wider than normal and can even make it burst, causing severe internal bleeding that can be fatal. Thoracic aortic aneurysms (TAA) affect about 15,000 Americans each year. Only about 20 to 30 percent of patients who get to a hospital with a ruptured TAA survive, so it is crucial to treat aneurysms to prevent rupture. In endovascular stent graft repair of a TAA, a small wire-mesh and fabric tube is placed within the aneurysmal sac to allow blood to flow through the vessel without putting pressure on the aneurysm. This halts further enlargement of the aneurysm and prevents rupture.