Henry Ford News

DETROIT - After undergoing a new procedure at Henry Ford Hospital for treating a thoracic aortic aneurysm (TAA), Patricia Brooks-Mosby has been inspired at age 65 to return to work and take a long awaited cruise vacation.

'I'm ready to go back to work and get on with the rest of my life,' says Brooks-Mosby, a Detroit widow who retired as a data entry specialist 13 years ago. 'I'm feeling really, really good.'

Brooks-Mosby was the first patient at Henry Ford to undergo endovascular repair of the thoracic aorta, a procedure that provides a minimally invasive alternative to open surgery for treating TAA, a life-threatening condition in which 3 out of 4 individuals with aneurysms experience no symptoms.

Henry Ford is the only hospital in the city of Detroit offering endovascular repair of the thoracic aorta, which seals off the aneurysm with a metal stent in the diseased aorta and creates a new path for blood flow. It is covered by most insurance plans. About 15,000 Americans die every year of a ruptured aortic aneurysm, an abnormal bulge in the wall of the aorta, the body's largest artery. An aneurysm can cause the aorta to grow to several times its normal size. Left untreated, it can rupture, resulting in internal bleeding and, in most cases, death.

'Endovascular repair of the thoracic aorta provides a safer alternative to traditional surgery,' says Daniel Reddy, M.D., division head of Vascular Surgery at Henry Ford and one of a select group of surgeons trained to perform the procedure in Michigan.

During the procedure, the surgeon using fluoroscopy makes a small incision in the groin and guides a metal stent with a catheter into the chest. Once the stent is correctly positioned in the aorta, it is released and self-expands to the diameter of the aorta, sealing off blood flow to the aneurysm and causing it to eventually shrink and die.

Patients who undergo the procedure are hospitalized for a day or two, compared to 5-10 days for conventional open surgery, Dr. Reddy says. Also, patients resume their normal activities sooner.

Brooks-Mosby, for example, happily points out that a couple days after being discharged from the hospital she was able to sit in a chair and pull weeds in the backyard.

'My neighbor made me go back in the house, but it just felt good being outside,' she says, laughing.

For years medical management and open surgery have been the conventional treatment options for TAA. Open surgery requires a large incision in the chest and not all patients can tolerate that kind of operation. Aortic aneurysms generally strike people over the age of 60.

Risk factors include family history, smoking, heart disease, high blood pressure and a high fat diet.