Leading-Edge Multidisciplinary Treatment for Aortic Aneurysms

Lehigh Valley Heart and Vascular Institute is known for its innovate approach to treating aortic aneurysm and dissection.

Now, vascular surgeons and cardiac surgeons within Lehigh Valley Heart and Vascular Institute have teamed up to form Lehigh Valley Health Network (LVHN)’s Comprehensive Aortic Center.

“By working together, we are able to combine our perspectives and care for any patient in the optimal manner,” says Ben Jackson, MD, Chief, Vascular Surgery, Lehigh Valley Heart and Vascular Institute. “Our team performs advanced, minimally invasive procedures, and we also have the expertise to perform open surgery.”

The vascular and cardiac surgeons of the Comprehensive Aortic Center collaborate at every stage of the treatment process, including:

• Evaluating and counseling individuals preoperatively
• Holding case conferences and formulating treatment plans
• Performing procedures with both a vascular surgeon and a cardiac surgeon typically in the operating room

Depending on a person’s specific needs, other experts may be part of the team as well (such as cardiologists and interventional radiologists).

Conventional endovascular aortic repair (EVAR) is a minimally invasive procedure that involves placing a stent graft in the aorta to exclude an aneurysm from pressurized blood flow and thereby reduce the risk for rupture. The problem arises when an aneurysm is located in a segment of aorta with branches that supply blood to the brain, liver, intestines, kidneys or arm. A new generation of branched and fenestrated stent grafts are designed to preserve blood flow to these vital areas while still treating the aneurysm.

“LVHN recently became the first health network in the Lehigh Valley to offer the Gore® Tag® thoracic branch endoprosthesis,” Dr. Jackson says. “Our initial case was an individual with a rapidly expanding and symptomatic aneurysm of the aortic arch, located near the artery supplying blood to the left arm. In the past, this aneurysm would have required a large chest incision. Using the new endoprosthesis, we were able to treat it minimally invasively.”

Other branched and fenestrated EVAR devices are available at Lehigh Valley Heart and Vascular Institute as well.

“We provide a wide array of treatments for aortic disease, and frequently we can offer a minimally invasive option,” Dr. Jackson says.