How is a Thoracic Aortic Aneurysm Treated?
A Thoracic Aortic Aneurysm has historically been treated with open surgery, where the aneurysm is removed and replaced with a graft. Surgery comes with significant risks, a long hospital stay and considerable recovery time. While it is still an accepted and effective treatment for TAAs, a new, less-invasive option has become available to patients who require repair for TAAs. This procedure is called Thoracic Endovascular Repair and it offers fewer complications, less blood loss and a faster return to normal activity. Using a catheter-based stent graft inserted through small incisions in the femoral artery near the groin, a TAA can be treated from inside the aorta. (see Thoracic Stent Endograft animation) The stent graft is compressed into the end of a catheter, which is threaded through the artery up to the site of the aneurysm. The surgeon then expands the graft to fit the inside diameter of your aorta. The implanted graft blocks blood flow to the ballooning portion of the aortic wall
