NEWS
UW Hospital utilizes new surgery tool
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by Carolyn Smith
Thursday, May 5, 2005
A groundbreaking surgery that may revolutionize how doctors treat certain heart conditions was performed Monday at the University of Wisconsin Hospital.
The surgery, which is known as an endovascular graft for a thoracic aneurysm, was the first time a special device recently approved by the Food and Drug Administration was used in Wisconsin.
Although the procedure is not new, this is the first time the specific thoracic graft, called Gore TAG, has been used since its approval.
“We’ve used endografts for aortic aneurysms in the abdomen for years,” said Dr. Charles Acher, the surgeon who performed the procedure. “But we’ve never had a thoracic endograft available until now.”
An endovascular graft involves the placement of the newly approved fabric-covered stenting device inside an artery to reinforce weakened arterial walls. The weakened walls are the result of an aneurysm, which is the enlargement of the artery, and can lead to a rupture. The stenting device is made of wire and holds the artery open to allow normal blood flow and act as a replacement for the damaged area of the artery, according to Acher.
The surgery was performed previously at UW Hospital and at other hospitals around the nation, but only on an experimental basis.
“It is a big deal because now [this procedure] will be generally available,” said Acher, who is also a professor of surgery at UW.
The endograft procedure involves doctors making a small incision in the groin area of the patient where a wire is inserted into the body, Acher said.
This newer surgery is likely to take the place of the older procedure in some cases.
Acher said the older surgical treatment for this type of aneurysm requires doctors to open up the patient’s chest and clamp the aorta in an extremely complex procedure.
Because the former treatment method is so invasive, it may be too risky and difficult for some patients to undergo. In this case, Acher said, the endograft would be appropriate.
“After doing this work for more than 20 years, it is phenomenal that we are able to fix some of these aneurysms this way,” Acher said. “It is pretty spectacular when it works well.”
However, not all patients make good candidates for the endograft. And, furthermore, though Acher said the surgery is less invasive, it still has some associated risks.
“In the studies, the procedure had the same mortality rate as the open procedure,” Acher said.
Acher said the new surgery does not cost significantly less than the TAA repair, but the procedure just requires a significantly shorter hospital stay.
Jeff Valenzuela, communications director for the American Heart Association, said technological innovations in all types of heart surgery have saved lives.
“UW Health continues to be a pioneer [in heart surgery],” Valenzuela said. “And the AHA is proud to work with UW Health on important, life-saving research.”
