Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Airs Internet Webcast of Aortic Aneurysm Surgery
Thursday, October 21, 2004
New Brunswick, NJ - Surgeons at the Vascular Center of New Jersey at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital demonstrated an innovative surgical technique to repair an abdominal aortic aneurysm in a live Internet broadcast aired yesterday over the hospital's Web site.
This is the second in a series of surgical webcasts designed to demonstrate clinical procedures for the education of medical professionals and the public. The concluded broadcast, as well as the previous webcast, will remain archived on the hospital's website, where it may be viewed at any time.
Approximately 15,000 Americans die each year from a ruptured aortic aneurysm, making it the 15th leading cause of death in the United States. Most people, however, have no easily recognizable symptoms.
The procedure, known as endovascular stent-grafting, is a less invasive method of treating an abdominal aortic aneurysm.
"When the condition is caught in time, it is eminently treatable," said Alan M. Graham, MD, Chief of the hospital's Division of Vascular Surgery and Professor of Surgery at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ) - Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, who performed the surgery.
The aorta is the body's largest artery, extending from the chest to the abdomen, where it branches, and carrying oxygen-filled blood from the heart to every organ and part of the body. An abdominal aortic aneurysm, also known as AAA, is a bulge or balloon that forms in the abdominal aorta. If untreated, this condition could result in a rupture of the aorta, usually with fatal results. Less than one in five people survive a rupture of an aortic aneurysm.
Traditional abdominal aortic aneurysm surgery requires a five- to seven-day hospital stay and several months for a full recovery. This newer procedure inserts a stent graft, which is a small tube, through the femoral artery in the groin, and then guides it into the location of the aneurysm. Hospital stays are usually only one to two days and patients are fully recovered within a few days.
Dr. Graham repaired an Infrarenal Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm, that is, an aneurysm located below the renal arteries. He used a special stent graft by W.L. Gore called the Excluder.
"Research done by Gore about the Excluder has proven that it prevents rupturing, it doesn't shift its position after it is inserted, and it does not cause blood clots," said Dr. Graham. "In addition, the operation to insert the Gore stent is shorter than some of the other stents available for treating an abdominal aortic aneurysm."
A sampling of its medical specialties includes pediatric neurosurgery, pediatric oncology, pediatric orthopedic surgery, pediatric rheumatology and metabolics diseases, and pediatric cardiology and cardiac surgery.
While Dr. Graham performed the surgery, Lucy S. Brevetti, MD, Attending Vascular Surgeon at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital and Assistant Professor of Surgery at UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, and Mark A. Adelman, Associate Professor at New York University School of Medicine and Associate Attending Surgeon at New York University Hospital and Manhattan VA, narrated the procedure and responded to emails from a viewing audience of physicians, medical students and members of the general public.
More than 200,000 people are diagnosed with an abdominal aortic aneurysm each year, but many do not experience any symptoms. Doctors frequently discover an aneurysm during a physical exam through an ultrasound or CT Scan, also known as Computerized Tomography or a CAT Scan.
For the evaluation, diagnosis, and traditional and minimally invasive treatments of vascular disease contact the Vascular Center of New Jersey at (732) 235-7816 (New Brunswick location), or (609) 860-0326 (Monroe Township location).
About Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital
Selected as one of four hospitals nationwide to offer the world's first self-contained implantable artificial heart, Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital (www.rwjuh.edu) is a 600-bed academic medical center and the principal hospital of UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in New Brunswick, NJ. Robert Wood Johnson is an innovative leader in advancing state-of-the-art care in medicine. Its Centers of Excellence include cardiovascular care from minimally invasive heart surgery to transplantation, cancer care, and women's and children's care including The Bristol-Myers Squibb Children's Hospital at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital (www.bmsch.org). The hospital is also a Level 1 Trauma Center and serves as a national resource in its ground-breaking approaches to emergency preparedness.
The hospital has earned significant national recognition for clinical quality and patient safety. Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital is ranked among the top 50 hospitals in the nation for both heart and heart surgery and respiratory disorders, according to U.S.News & World Report's 2008 ranking of "America's Best Hospitals." The American College of Surgeons' Commission on Cancer has rated Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital among the nation's best comprehensive cancer centers. The Leapfrog Group rated Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital as one of the 50 exceptional U.S. hospitals, as published in Consumers Digest magazine. Harvard University researchers, in a study commissioned by The Commonwealth Fund, identified Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital as one of the top 10 hospitals in the nation for clinical quality. Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital is also a recipient of the prestigious Magnet Award for Nursing Excellence for more than 10 consecutive years.
Attention members of the media: For more information on this release, please contact the Department of Public Relations (732) 937-8521.
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