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What are the symptoms of an Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm?
Detection and AwarenessRisk Assessmentabdominal aortic aneurysmbleedingultrasound scanaorta
Mr colin bicknell
Mr colin bicknell

What are the symptoms of an Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm?

Mr Bicknell explains that most abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA) have no symptoms at all. If they grow undetected, they can burst (rupture) and cause symptoms all of a sudden. They can also become symptomatic if they grow quickly which can lead to earlier detection. However, most are detected on scans for other reasons or in the aneurysm screening program for men over 65 years old.

Transcript (auto-generated)

This transcript was generated automatically and may contain errors.

So most abdominal aortic aneurysms give no symptoms at all and they grow quietly and silently within a person and if undetected they can rupture causing symptoms all of a sudden with with bleeding. They can however become symptomatic if they grow quickly and that can lead us to point to a detect them early on. Otherwise, most of them are detected on scans for either another reason or scans that we perform as part of the aneurysm screening programme, where 65-year-old men come for screening once with an ultrasound scan. About 1% of them have an aneurysm picked up at that screening appointment.

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Mr colin bicknell
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Endovascular repair (EVAR) for Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms

Mr Bicknell explains that endovascular repair (keyhole surgery) is one of the main treatment options for abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA). It involves a medical device called a stent graft. A small cut is made into the groin, and the stent graft is then fed up under X-ray guidance into the aorta. The main advantage over open repair is that there is less trauma, less complications shortly after the operation, and patients can usually go home within a day or two. But, in the long term, there can be leakage around the stent graft into the aneurysm (endoleak), which means there is a higher chance of having further procedures. This also means that you will need more regular follow up.

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Mr colin bicknell
Mr colin bicknell

Open repair for Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms

Mr Bicknell explains that open surgery is one of the main treatment options for abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA). He explains the steps of the procedure, which involves a large cut in the abdomen. When the aorta is exposed, it is clamped above and below the aneurysm. The aneurysm is then opened up and a fabric tube is sown in. It is a major operation which requires a short stay in high dependency or intensive care unit, around 7-10 days in hospital, and a few weeks or months to recover. The short-term complications are higher than the endovascular (keyhole approach). But the main advantage is that the repair is usually more long lasting.

Open repair for Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms