Physician Muhammad Asad Khan, a vascular surgeon at St. Joseph’s Physicians Vascular Surgery, has performed a groundbreaking procedure that could lead to more patients having minimally invasive options for major vascular surgeries.
In January, Khan became the first vascular surgeon in Central New York to use a minimally invasive surgical approach (called endovascular surgery) to remove a suprarenal aneurysm. This type of aneurysm is rare, involving one or more blood vessels that branch off the aorta (the main artery in your body that pumps blood out of the heart) including renal arteries. Khan’s surgery was the first three-branched endovascular repair, involving both renal arteries and the superior mesenteric artery.
This type of aneurysm frequently requires an open thoracoabdominal approach (TTA) for surgical repair which involves the surgical removal of a section of the aorta and replacing it with an artificial graft. It is a complicated procedure that uses an exceptionally large incision (and scar) and may require the use of a heart-lung machine to help preserve blood supply to vital organs during surgery.
An endovascular approach uses the insertion of catheters (long, thin, flexible tubes) into small incisions to access the arteries and veins. Khan’s patient had a successful surgery and was released from the hospital in two days.
“Traditional vascular surgery has the potential for more complications, including possible renal failure and higher mortality rates. Patients remain in the hospital for at least a week and have longer recovery periods,” said Khan. “The success of this less invasive technique could lead to opportunities to more safely remove other aneurysms that extend from the chest to the stomach without major open surgery.”