Specialising in treatment for varicose veins
What is an aneurysm?
An aneurysm is an abnormal swelling or widening of an artery.
Who is affected?
Abdominal aortic aneurysm is a condition that tends to affect men more than women. It is more likely in older people, often over 65 years. It is normally asymptomatic and often only detected by ultrasound scanning.
Why is it significant?
If an aneurysm is left untreated it could enlarge, ultimately leading to rupture and internal bleeding. Once an aneurysm is detected the need for treatment will depend on its size and the fitness of the patient. Typically, once an aneurysm exceeds 5.5cm it is safer to treat it surgically than to continue observation.
What are the treatment options?
Surgical repair is the gold-standard. Over the last decade keyhole treatment - endovascular aneurysm repair, has become an option for many patients. The best treatment will depend on several factors and vary from one individual to another.
Polyester vascular graft - as used to repair aortic aneurysmWhat is the outcome of surgery?
Although surgical repair is a major operation the vast majority of patients make a complete recovery. In hospital stay is usually six to ten days and full recovery can take two to three months. Since 2004 I have contributed anonymized patient data on outcomes for major operations to the National Vascular Database of the Vascular Society of Great Britain and Ireland. In-patient mortality following planned open aortic aneurysm surgery is currently less than 2%.
External links
wikipedia article on abdominal aortic aneurysm