BY DR. ALI AZIZZADEH

Thoracic Endovascular Aortic Repair (TEVAR) is a minimally invasive procedure to repair the major blood vessel in the body, called the aorta.

The aorta exits the heart and carries blood to all the organs and the rest of the body.  After leaving the heart, the aorta gives branches to the arms and the brain before running down the back of the chest (thorax) into the belly (abdomen).  The aorta forks at the level of the belly button (umbilicus) into branches that go down each leg.  To fix or “re-line” the aorta, doctors place a device through a small hole in your groin, known as a stent graft.  This device is made of a fabric – covered metal mesh which is fully opened under x-ray.  The device repairs the diseased aorta and helps to keep it open and allow blood to flow properly to the rest of the body.  The aorta can be affected by a number of different dieseases including aneurysm, dissection, transection and stenosis.

• Depending on the type of disease, the TEVAR procedure usually provides a cure.  The procedure usually takes around 2 hours to complete.
• The alternative to TEVAR is what doctors refer to as “open repair”.  This procedure requires a large incision through the breastbone or side of the chest, much more invasive compared to the small groin incision made with TEVAR.
• Current devices (stent grafts) have a lifespan of at least 10 years.