Endovascular Repair of Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm
(Minimally Invasive Repair of Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm; EVAR)
|Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm|
|Copyright © Nucleus Medical Media, Inc.|
Reasons for Procedure
- Causes physical symptoms (eg, abdominal pain)
- Causes complications (eg, clots that travel into the legs)
- Reaches a certain size and position that meets criteria for EVAR
- Has burst—Surgery must be done right away.
- Adverse reaction to anesthesia
- Bruising or bleeding
- Damage to blood vessels or organs (possibly requiring open surgery)
- Leaking of blood at the graft
- Heart attack
- Blood clots
- Chronic disease such as diabetes or obesity
- A recent or active infection
- Bleeding or clotting disorders
What to Expect
Prior to Procedure
- Do a physical exam, blood tests, and imaging tests (eg, CT scan )
- Ask about your medical history, including allergies, current medicines, bleeding disorders, and other concerns
- Have you meet with an anesthesiologist
- Do not eat or drink for eight hours prior to the procedure.
Talk to your doctor about your medicines. You may be asked to stop taking some medicines up to one week before the procedure, like:
- Anti-inflammatory drugs (eg, aspirin )
- Blood thinners, such as clopidogrel (Plavix) or warfarin (Coumadin)
Description of the Procedure
Immediately After Procedure
How Long Will It Take?
How Much Will It Hurt?
Average Hospital Stay
- Gradually move around and increase your activity level
- Slowly return to eating solid foods, as tolerated
- Washing their hands
- Wearing gloves or masks
- Keeping your incisions covered
- Washing your hands often and reminding visitors and healthcare providers to do the same
- Reminding your healthcare providers to wear gloves or masks
- Not allowing others to touch your incisions
- Keep the incision areas clean and dry. Follow your doctor’s instructions for changing your bandages.
- Ask your doctor about when it is safe to shower, bathe, or soak in water.
- Take pain medicine as directed.
- Ask your doctor which activities are safe for you.
- Your condition needs to be carefully monitored. Be sure to go to all of your appointments.
Call Your Doctor
- Redness, swelling, increasing pain, excessive bleeding, or discharge at the incision site
- Signs of infection, including fever and chills
- New abdominal pain
- Back pain
- Any change of color or sensation in your legs or feet
- Burning, pain, or problems when urinating
- Nausea or vomiting
- Abdominal cramps or diarrhea
- Unusual fatigue or depression
- Disorientation or confusion
- Numbness or tingling in the legs
- New, unexplained symptoms
- Shortness of breath
- Chest pain
American Heart Association http://www.americanheart.org/
Society for Vascular Surgery http://www.vascularweb.org/
Canadian Cardiovascular Society http://www.ccs.ca/
Canadian Society for Vascular Surgery http://canadianvascular.ca/
Abdominal aortic aneurysm. Society for Vascular Surgery website. Available at: http://www.vascularweb.org/patients/NorthPoint/Abdominal%5FAortic%5FAneurysm.html. Updated January 2010. Accessed January 22, 2010.
Abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA). EBSCO DynaMed website. Available at: http://www.ebscohost.com/dynamed. Updated January 22, 2010. Accessed January 27, 2010.
Abdominal aortic aneurism repair. Lancaster General Health website. Available at: http://www.lancastergeneral.org/content/greystone%5F27195.htm. Accessed January 25, 2010.
Dillon M, Cardwell C, Blair PH, Ellis P, Kee F, Harkin DW. Endovascular treatment for ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews website. Available at: http://www.cochrane.org/reviews/en/ab005261.html. Published January 24, 2007. Accessed January 22, 2010.
Endovascular repair of thoracic aortic aneurysms. Cleveland Clinic website. Available at: http://my.clevelandclinic.org/heart/disorders/aorta%5Fmarfan/endovascularaorticaneurysm.aspx. Updated August 2009. Accessed January 22, 2010.
Fotis T, Mitsos A, Perdikides T, et al. Regional Anesthesia versus general anesthesia in endovascular aneurism repair: the surgical nursing interventions. British Journal of Anesthetic and Recovery Nursing. 2009;10(1):11-14.
Minimally invasive surgery repairs potentially fatal aortic aneurysms. UCLA Health Systems website. Available at: http://www.uclahealth.org/body.cfm?xyzpdqabc=0&id=502&action=detail&ref=86. Published September 2006. Accessed February 2, 2010.
- Reviewer: Marcin Chwistek, MD
- Review Date: 03/2013 -
- Update Date: 01/27/2014 -