click here to view a Quicktime video of Dr. Kent explaining the procedure.

The abdominal aorta is the main artery that brings blood from the heart down to the legs. In some individuals, especially the elderly, the aorta widens or dilates, developing a bulge called an aneurysm. When the aortic aneurysm becomes too wide, it may rupture like an overfilled balloon. Most patients with ruptured aneurysms do not survive.

A new technique for the treatment of abdominal aortic aneurysms is being used here at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital. This procedure, the placement of an endovascular stent-graft, is relatively simple and can prevent the aneurysm from rupturing.

In this video, Dr. K. Craig Kent, Chief of the Division of Vascular Surgery at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital explains the procedure.

For the placement of an endovascular stent-graft, vascular surgeons make an incision in an artery in the groin on the side of the body where the aneurysm has occurred. Through this incision, they guide a sheath to the site of the aneurysm, where it deploys a stent-graft, a tube-like plastic apparatus that expands once in place. As Dr. Kent demonstrates in the video, the stent-graft then contains the blood flow through the aneurysm, allowing blood to flow to the legs normally without putting pressure on the sides of the bulge, thereby decreasing the risk of rupture.

The procedure is effective and easy for patients to tolerate. The whole procedure takes just 45 to 90 minutes, most patients can be discharged from the hospital the day after surgery, and they can resume normal activity within a couple of weeks.