Successful endovascular procedure for thoracoabdominal aneurysm

30 June 2021

A procedure performed only at selected centers globally was recently performed successfully at the state-of-the-art HYGEIA hybrid operating room, on a patient who suffered from a thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysm.

The innovative procedure was performed by Cardiac Surgeon and Associate Director of the Transcatheter Heart Valve Department at HYGEIA, Dr. Gregory Pattakos, and Vascular Surgeon and Director of the 1st Vascular Surgery Clinic at HYGEIA, Dr. Stavros Kalliafas.

Using special software and based on the findings of the CT angiography performed on the patient’s thoracic and abdominal aorta, a special custom-made graft was prepared abroad, tailored to the anatomy of the patient’s body.

The procedure was successful and the patient remained in the HYGEIA ICU for less than 24 hours, getting discharged on the third postoperative day.

Compared to open surgery to treat the aneurysm, the endovascular procedure helps reduce the surgery time, the risk of the procedure and the postoperative recovery time for the patient, while there is close to no blood loss. There is also no incision on the chest or abdomen, only a small 2-cm incision on the thigh.

This ground-breaking procedure can be added to the dozens of medical breakthroughs successfully performed at HYGEIA in the last 50-plus years, confirming yet again that it is at the cutting-edge of medical developments in the heart sector in Greece, providing reliable and premium healthcare services to treat cardiovascular conditions.