Treatment Options for Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm

Fantastic. And what are the treatment options for abdominal aortic aneurysms? So every procedure we do for an abdominal aortic aneurysm is a reasonably complex procedure, and you have to have a level of fitness for that. And sometimes, you know, if we think that we're not sure how fit someone is for the surgery, we'll actually put them on an exercise bike and see what they're like. If they pass that test, and it's a crude test, but it gives us useful information, then we'll often offer them a choice depending on what the aneurysm looks like, whether they can have that repaired via the traditional method, which is an open surgery with an incision in the abdomen and a stay on the intensive care unit. And in that surgery, we actually replace the main blood vessel with a polyester tube. Or for some patients who are are suitable based on what their aneurysm looks like on the CT scan, they can undergo stenting. Stenting is a lesser procedure and in this procedure we puncture the groin arteries and we insert the polyester tube up into the main blood vessel, but it's all scrunched up and then we open that inside the aorta and that seals the aneurysm from the inside, so there's no cuts and scars in the belly and often you don't need to go to intensive care. but there are pros and cons of each of these things and we have to weigh this up based on a number of factors like someone's age, how well they are or unwell they are from other medical conditions and in more recent times things like the Covid pandemic.