They have managed to repair a giant aneurysm rupture.
Physicians of the Zagreb Clinical Hospital Centre have performed a unique procedure to repair a giant aneurysm of the pelvic artery, caused by a complete breakdown of the whole aorta, with minimally invasive endovascular surgery, it was announced at a press conference on Monday, reports Jutarnji List on September 10, 2019.
The emergency surgery was carried out on Friday night on a 55-year-old patient from Sisak, whose life was in danger. After the surgery, the patient is recovering well, it was said at the conference.
“This approach is unique in that, although the technique and method of operation have already been described, such a group of pathological conditions which has been present in this patient has never been seen in the scientific literature,” said Dražen Perkov, an interventional radiologist who was part of the medical team.
In a complex and risky two-hour surgery, the patient was saved thanks to a minimally invasive procedure through the groin artery, without surgical cuts and the opening of the abdomen and pelvis. “Such an operation, a combination of parallel stent-grafts, in such complex aortic anatomic conditions has not been published in the available scientific literature so far,” Perkov explained.
Vascular surgeon Damir Halužan, who assisted with the surgery, added that the procedure was specific because of the double volume of the aorta in the patient, which is an extremely rare condition.
Ante Ćorušić, director of the Zagreb Clinical Hospital Centre, pointed out that such interventions can only be performed by top-level doctors and technology, and that they are extremely expensive and significantly above the price that the Croatian Health Insurance Institute pays for such surgeries. However, he added, it was in the patient's interest to perform such a surgery and they would perform it in the future as well.
Head of the Clinical Institute for Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology Ivica Sjekavica stated that such complicated interventions are based on the enthusiasm of the entire medical team, so he is proud of all who participated in it.
Translated from Jutarnji List.
