What Is An Aneurysm?

World Renown Surgeon, Dr. Julio Rodriguez provides education on aneurysms.

An aneurysm is an abnormal bulge or ballooning in a weakened artery or vein. Aneurysms can be located in any blood vessel of the body but generally develop in areas of high pressure where blood vessels divide and branch off to other parts of the body. Aneurysms can be caused by illness or injury and genetics. Aneurysms can be life threatening and require the expertise of a vascular surgeon to appropriately treat.



Risk Factors
Genetics
Smoking
High blood pressure
High cholesterol
Plaque build up
Symptoms
Belly pain, back pain, groin pain
Feeling full after eating small amounts of food
Nausea vomiting, feeling faint or passing out
Feeling a pulsating lump in the belly.
How is this Diagnosed?
Often discovered during an x-ray, ultrasound, or echocardiogram done for other purposes.

Treatments
Endoliminal graft repair (ELG) – Is a minimally invasive procedure performed within the artery using thin tubes called catheters. The catheters are threaded through small incisions in the groin into the vessels where a stent is deployed to increase the blood flow through the vessel.

Open Aneurysm Repair – During open aneurysm repair procedure, the weakened, bulging part of your artery is replaced with a tube like graft passed through the vessel, which allows us to bypass the aneurysm.

Types of aneurysms
Aorta
Kidney/Spleen
Legs
Brain
Heart
Neck