Newly Approved Device Aids Minimally Invasive Aneurysm Repair

MADISON - Hours after the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a new surgical device, a Wisconsin woman underwent a minimally invasive endovascular procedure at UW Hospital and Clinics for a potentially deadly abdominal aortic aneurysm.

Jon Matsumura, MD, UW Health vascular surgeon, says the endovascular procedure with the new device spared Anita Penniston, 71, a week to 10 days in the hospital. Instead, she was able to return home after only two days.

The new device allows very precise deployment and even repositioning of the stent to repair an abdominal aortic aneurysm.

The procedure was done in the hospital's state-of-the-art angiography operating room. Penniston, of Argyle, Wisconsin, was supposed to have open surgery until the device received FDA approval January 4, 2011, for use in abdominal aortic aneurysm repair.

She didn’t find out until the eve of her surgery that she became a candidate for minimally invasive endovascular surgery because the new system more precisely places the stent in challenging anatomy. In addition to a lengthy hospital stay, Penniston could have spent weeks in a rehabilitation facility if she had had open surgery.

In this type of endovascular surgery, which was pioneered by faculty of the UW School of Medicine and Public Health, the vascular surgeon inserts a catheter  through small incisions in the groin and uses imaging to navigate a stent to the aneurysm site.

UW faculty have published landmark studies showing striking benefits with endovascular repair, such as faster and more complete recovery and less change for catastrophic fatal complications. Since FDA approval, UW Health surgeons have done 10 endovascular procedures using this new device.

Leave Us a Comment

Let us know what you think about this article or tell us what you'd like to see in future issues of Medical Directions.