Some people suffer from aortic aneurysm, which is a disease condition that affects part of the wall of the aorta, in which part of the artery wall expands and swells, becoming weak and swollen like a balloon. Given that the aorta is the largest blood vessel in the body, it is responsible for transporting blood from the heart. It nourishes the head, abdomen, arms, pelvis, and legs. Therefore, artery dissection or dilation poses a threat to the patient’s life, and requires urgent intervention and close follow-up with a skilled doctor, to evaluate the condition and determine treatment methods that may lead to aortic surgery in some cases.
Aortic aneurysm
Aortic aneurysm may occur in any location, and according to the location and diameter of the aneurysm, Professor Dr. Muhammad Al-Ghannam can evaluate the condition and determine appropriate treatment methods, as the artery can expand in the chest area, and it is called thoracic aortic aneurysm, and in this case part of the artery expands in The chest area or the root of the main aortic artery connected to the heart expands.
It is possible that It expands Abdominal aorta, the most common type, in which part of the aorta that passes through the abdominal area is dilated.
Causes of aortic aneurysm
Aortic aneurysm may occur suddenly and without a known cause, but there are some factors that are believed to increase the risk of aortic aneurysm, including:
- High blood pressure: High pressure can in turn affect the walls of the aorta, as well as the blood vessels, putting pressure on them and causing weakness and dilation of the aorta.
- Smoking: It is one of the factors that is believed to directly affect the body’s arteries and cause an increase in blood pressure, which ultimately results in dilation and weakness of the arteries.
- Fat accumulation and atherosclerosis: High levels of cholesterol and harmful fats cause fat to accumulate on the walls of blood vessels from the inside, causing their diameter to narrow and blood pressure to rise, all of which can cause the vessels and arteries to dilate.
- Some genetic factors may increase the risk of developing aortic aneurysm, especially if there is a genetic history of Marfan syndrome, a rare condition that affects connective tissue and causes aortic aneurysm.
- Vasculitis: Inflammation of the aortic wall may occur, and the person may be exposed to a bacterial or fungal infection that causes this inflammation and dilation.
Symptoms of aortic enlargement
Symptoms may be silent for a long time, and the patient does not feel them until they worsen, starting with a complaint of pain in the chest, abdomen, or back area, or the patient begins to complain of disturbances in the blood circulation and heart, or a clot in the aorta or in one of the limbs. If the patient does not pay attention to these symptoms, and commits to follow-up and treatment with an experienced doctor, his condition may develop, and a burst or rupture of the aortic wall may occur, which requires immediate and urgent intervention to perform surgery and attempt to save the patient’s life.
Note that dilatation of the aortic wall does not occur suddenly, but rather develops gradually under the influence of some of the factors mentioned above, the most famous of which is high blood pressure. Symptoms of aortic dilatation can be mentioned in points as follows:
- The patient may complain of increased heart rate.
- Sudden pain in the abdominal or back area, and of course varies depending on the position of the stretch, and this pain may spread to include the pelvis, buttocks, and legs.
- The patient may complain of feeling a pulsation in the abdominal area.
- If a rupture occurs in the aortic wall, the patient suddenly experiences severe abdominal pain that requires going to the hospital immediately.
Diagnosis of aortic aneurysms
In the early stages, the disease may be discovered by chance during routine ultrasound examinations, and an enlargement of the aorta will be noticed. The patient will then be referred to a doctor specializing in open-heart surgery, who will evaluate the condition using CT scans with dye and other tests, in order to measure the diameter of the artery. The dilated area, the area of the area of the artery and its effect.
However, if the patient’s condition is somewhat advanced, the symptoms he is suffering from will force him to go to the doctor, and with the examinations the condition will be evaluated, and the location and size of the aortic aneurysm will be determined. Accordingly, the doctor will determine the appropriate treatment plan to repair that aneurysm according to the patient’s age and health condition. .
Treatment of aortic aneurysm
Dr. Mohamed Ali Al-Ghannam, Professor of Cardiothoracic Surgery at the Faculty of Medicine, Ain Shams University, confirms that the treatment of aortic aneurysm depends on the location and degree of the aneurysm, and the evaluation of the condition, and not all cases are subject to aortic surgery, but the treating physician may suffice with follow-up without surgery for some cases that A small aortic aneurysm appears, so the speed of the growth of this aneurysm can be monitored through ultrasound imaging and CT scans on a regular basis.
But there are other cases that require inevitable surgical intervention and an operation to remove the aortic aneurysm. This usually occurs when the diameter of the aortic aneurysm exceeds 5 to 5.5 centimeters. This indicates its weakness and the possibility of rupture at any time, which requires medical intervention to treat the patient using the following methods:
Open surgery
Aortic repair surgery involves completely removing the damaged or weak part of the artery and replacing it with an artificial tube. This is done by performing surgery in the chest and abdomen to reach the aneurysm, then removing the affected part and placing the artificial tube as an alternative. This operation takes from 3 to 5 hours. It requires staying in the hospital for 5 to 10 days after that, and the patient needs approximately 6 weeks to recover and return to daily activities again. Aortic surgery is one of the major operations that requires special care and close follow-up with the treating physician.
Catheter and stent
Catheterization is one of the most common methods for treating aneurysms and is preferred by a large number of patients, as it is a minimally invasive procedure in which the doctor uses a thin catheter to insert a stent into the affected part. The catheter is then withdrawn and the stent is installed, which expands and supports the artery wall in that affected location, which is a much simpler process. It is an open surgery, and it may replace the need for open surgical intervention in some moderate cases.
In this technique, a thin tube is inserted through the blood artery extending in the leg, reaching the dilation site. This tube then supports the blood vessel from the inside. The stent is a tube covered with a metal mesh that is placed in the dilation site to support it and prevent further inflation.
Post-aortic surgery
Professor Dr. Muhammad Al-Ghannam, Consultant Cardiothoracic Surgeon, stresses the importance of following up and adhering to the doctor’s instructions after performing aortic surgery, and the importance of following the appropriate diet for patients with heart and vascular surgery in general, avoiding smoking and adhering to treatment so that their condition does not get worse, as some patients may need To open aortic surgery in conjunction with the installation of a catheter or stent in order to achieve the highest degree of repair of the aorta.
Is aortic aneurysm surgery dangerous?
Open heart surgery for the purpose of repairing thoracic or abdominal aortic aneurysm is one of the major operations, and it is a complex surgery that many patients fear, but with scientific progress, it is now possible to perform these types of operations with the highest levels of care and precision with a medical team with a high level of experience. And efficiency and in specialized centers.
Despite the danger of this type of surgery, some cases suffer from severe dilation of the aorta It requires Perform it and consult Dr. Muhammad Al-Ghannam in order to accurately diagnose and treat the aortic aneurysm as quickly as possible, because severe aortic dissection or aneurysm exposes the patient’s life to the risk of rupture and explosion at any moment.
