Endovascular Repair

Endovascular repair is a minimally invasive alternative to open surgery. It does not require a large incision. Instead, surgeons use a catheter-based technique that allows them to fix your aorta from the inside out, with the help of special X-ray technology. 

Experts in Endovascular Repair at UCLA Aortic Center

Our expertise performing endovascular repair is unmatched anywhere in California or the United States. At the UCLA Aortic Center, we have more experience and training than any other surgical team because we helped develop this procedure.

We performed the first aortic endograft surgery in 1994. Since then, our surgeons have performed thousands of endovascular repairs to treat aortic aneurysms, aortic dissections, aortic occlusions and traumatic aortic injury. Today, we are still working to improve this technique to benefit even more patients. Meet our expert team.

Benefits of Endovascular Repair

There are many advantages of this minimally invasive approach over open surgery. Today, surgeons opt for endovascular repair whenever possible, especially for high-risk patients.

Benefits of endovascular repair include:

• Shorter hospital stay (one to two days)
• Smaller incisions
• Less scarring
• Rapid return to normal physical activity
• Fewer complications traditionally associated with open surgery

Is Endovascular Repair Right for Me?

Whether or not you are a candidate for endovascular repair depends on a number of factors, including what type of aortic disease you have and your overall health. At the UCLA Aortic Center, our doctors will work you to develop a personalized treatment plan that is right for you.

Endovascular repair may be preferable for some high-risk patients, including:

• Older patients
• People with high blood pressure or heart disease
• People with diabetes

Some people are not candidates for endovascular repair. In these cases, a more traditional surgery may be needed to treat your condition. Learn more about open surgery at the UCLA Aortic Center.

What to Expect During Endovascular Repair

Endovascular repair involves placing an endograft in the damaged section of your aorta. An endograft is a type of stent, a tube made of a special metal wire covered with a fabric mesh that works like scaffolding to support and cover the inside of the aorta. Endografts help restore healthy blood flow and prevent aneurysms from rupturing.

Endovascular repair is a minimally invasive procedure. Unlike open surgery, it does not require large incisions and may be done without general anesthesia.

Here’s what to expect:

1. You may have general, regional or local anesthesia with sedation. That means you will not feel any pain or remember the procedure. General anesthesia is not required.
2. Your surgeon will make a puncture or occasionally a small incision at your groin and insert a thin tube called a catheter into an artery.
3. With the help of a special type of X-ray imaging called fluoroscopy, your surgeon will guide the catheter to the damaged section of your aorta.
4. The catheter contains the compressed endograft. When the catheter is in place, your surgeon can slide it out, position it and fasten it to your aorta.
5. Your surgeon removes the catheter.
6. The small access site in your groin will heal within 1-2 weeks.
7. You will need a follow-up CT scan within a few weeks, at six months and at one year to make sure the graft is working properly. Subsequent follow-up may involve an ultrasound Duplex scan.

Comprehensive Treatment Options at UCLA Aortic Center

Our doctors believe in patient-centered care. That’s why we take a personalized approach to diagnosis and treatment for aortic disease.

Learn more:

• Imaging Tests
• Fenestrated endovascular repair
• Hybrid repair
• Open surgery