Jackson Hospital | Partners | Spring 2020

jackson.org 11 COMMUNITY TAGLINE HERE HEART CARE NEW ALTERNATIVE to open AAA surgery Each year, approximately 200,000 people in the U.S. are diagnosed with an abdominal aortic aneurysm, or AAA. When the wall of a blood vessel weakens, a balloonlike dilation called an aneurysm develops. Most often, this happens in the abdominal aorta, an essential blood vessel that supplies blood to your legs. Abdominal aortic aneurysms occur in the largest blood vessel in your body. If not treated properly and quickly, the AAA could rupture and potentially lead to death. But if an AAA is found in time, our doctors can often successfully treat it. An innovative repair In 2019, Jackson Hospital introduced a new procedure, called an endovascu- lar aneurysm repair (EVAR), that can dramatically reduce complications during AAA surgery. EVAR of the abdominal aorta is performed using an AAA stent graft. The AAA stent is placed within the aneurysm to provide a permanent, alter- native conduit for blood flow, thereby excluding the aneurysmal sac from blood flow and pressure and preventing the walls of the aneurysm from rupturing. The AAA stent graft is inserted into the aneurysm through small incisions in the groin and without surgically opening or removing part of the aorta, offering an alternative treatment to open surgery. EVAR procedures are associated with a significant reduction in complication rates when compared with open AAA re- pair and also have been shown to reduce the number of ruptured AAA. The EVAR procedure is performed in a new Interventional Radiology suite that extends Jackson Hospital’s cardiac catheterization lab capacity to two rooms. The increased capacity in Inter- ventional Radiology frees up space in the cath lab, allowing for further cardiology growth and better care to patients in the River Region. Endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR) Aorta Renal artery Aneurysm Graft