Thoracic Aortic Endovascular Repair

Thoracic aortic endovascular repair (TEVAR) is a less invasive method for replacement of the descending thoracic aorta. Patients with significant risk factors such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and renal failure may not be candidates for traditional descending aortic surgery. However they might be candidates for TEVAR, where a covered stent graft is deployed from the inside the aorta, using thin, long tubes called catheters. Through small incisions in the groin, the catheters are used to guide and deliver a stent-graft through the blood vessels to the site of the aneurysm. The stent graft is then deployed in the diseased segment of the aorta and "relines" the aorta like a sleeve to divert blood flow away from the aneurysm

Certain patients with complicated aortic dissections and traumatic aortic tears also may be treated with TEVAR with excellent results.