Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm
(AAA)

What is it?

An Abdominal aorta aneurysm is a bulge or ballooning of the aorta - the main blood vessel that runs from the heart through the chest and abdomen. It can get bigger overtime and could repture, which may be fatal.

Causes, Symptoms and Treatment

How is AAA Caused?

Weakening of the aortic wall due to factors like smoking, high blood pressure, atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries), and genetics.

Symptoms

There are usually no symptoms in the early stages. In some cases, it may cause a deep, pulsating pain in the abdomen or lower back. A ruptured AAA can cause sudden and severe pain in the abdomen or lower back, along with dizziness, nausea, and sweating.

Treatment

When the aneurysm comes high risk of rupturing an endovascular aneurysm repair is recommended (EVAR). EVAR is a minimally invasive procedure and is a viable alternative to traditional open surgery. It offers several advantages over traditional surgery, such as:

Smaller incisions: EVAR only requires small incisions in the groin, whereas open surgery requires a large incision in the abdomen.
Shorter recovery time: Patients typically recover from EVAR faster than open surgery and can often go home the same day or the next day.
Less pain: EVAR is generally less painful than open surgery.

Overview of EVAR Procedure

Access: The surgeon makes small incisions in the groin area and inserts thin tubes (catheters) into the arteries.
Deployment: The surgeon guides a stent-graft, a fabric-covered metal mesh tube, through the catheters to the aneurysm site.
Positioning: Once in place, the stent-graft expands and seals the weakened area of the aorta, diverting blood flow away from the aneurysm and reinforcing the aortic wall.
Closure: The catheters are removed, and the groin incisions are closed.