Minimally invasive treatment could be safer option for treating aneurysms

Researchers at the this year’s Society of Interventional Radiology’s Annual Scientific Meeting discussed a minimally invasive treatment for ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysms that has been shown in a study to be safer than traditional surgical repair and associated with lower mortality rates. The interventional radiology treatment, called endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR), involves a stent being pushed against the aortic wall through a thin wire catheter that is guided by advanced medical imaging. “Prior to the development of minimally invasive endovascular repair, it was customary for individuals to undergo open surgery, but now the majority of these elective aneurysm repairs are being done by endovascular technique,” Prasoon Mohan, co-author of the study, said. “It’s only a question now of getting clinicians and institutions to use the same technique in emergency settings for ruptured aneurysms.”