Endovascular Aneurysm Repair procedure performed first time in Pakistan

Islamabad

The new less invasive surgery called Endovascular Aneurysm Repair (EVAR) through grafting of endovascular stent to treat abdominal aortic aneurysm has been performed for the first time in Pakistan and the elderly patient underwent procedure is living a normal life without any complications.

Studies reveal that an abdominal aortic aneurysm is an enlarged area in the lower part of the aorta, the major blood vessel that supplies blood to the body. The aorta, about the thickness of a garden hose, having diameter of about 2 to 2.5 centimetre, runs from your heart through the centre of your chest and abdomen. Because the aorta is the body’s main supplier of blood, a ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm can cause life-threatening bleeding.

The first successful implantation of the endovascular stent graft was performed at Quaid-e- Azam International Hospital Islamabad by Vascular and Endo vascular Surgeon Dr. Syed Naseem Haider who claimed after the surgery that diffusing this deadly anatomical time bomb called abdominal aortic aneurysm has become possible in Pakistan now.

Giving details to ‘The News’ on Sunday, Dr. Naseem said the male patient in his sixties suffering from abdominal aortic aneurysm came to QIH last year and remained under consistent monitoring. After one year of management through medication, we decided to operate the patient, he said.

The patient got admitted to the hospital and the next day, he was operated and two days after the surgery, he was discharged, he said.

According to medical science, once an abdominal aortic aneurysm is found, doctors closely monitor it so that surgery can be planned if it is necessary as emergency surgery for a ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm can be risky.

Dr. Naseem said the Aortic Aneurysm is due to the weakening in the wall of body’s largest blood vessels. If left untreated, the growing bubble would likely to burst without warning someday, causing massive bleeding, followed by shock and almost certain death. These time bombs do not go away by themselves, he said.

He explained that conventional surgery to repair this aortic aneurysm is associated with lots of complications and 5 per cent risk of death. The new less invasive surgery called Endovascular Aneurysm Repair (EVAR) has really changed the management of these patients. In this new technique, the repair is done with specifically designed polyester hose which is loaded into a tiny sleeve and snaked to the aneurysm through a blood vessel in the leg, he explained.

He added that his team inserted a catheter into the femoral arteries in the legs and used radiography to guide the hose tightly bound in a little bundle into the damaged area of the aorta. Once the hose got to the right place, the sleeve was removed and the sheath sprang open to hug the wall of aorta. Surgical hooks on the hose grabbed the wall and affixed the patch. He said the patient underwent surgery like the most patients ate solid food for the dinner on the night of surgery and went home within next two-three days, said Dr. Naseem.