Department Name

We, at the University of Florida Division of Vascular Surgery, have a long history of expertise in the surgical management of abdominal aortic aneurysms. Since 1997, we have added endovascular repair of AAA as a treatment option for our patients. Outcomes after surgical and endovascular AAA repair are directly related to hospital and surgeon volume, and we currently perform over 120 endovascular AAA repairs a year, placing UF in the top 5 to 10 percent of high volume aortic centers in the entire country. This include many complex and difficult cases often referred from other medical centers.

(Left) 3D-reconstruction of a typical AAA from a 64-slice high-resolution CT scan. (Right) Plain abdominal x-ray of an aortic endograft.

A typical endovascular AAA repair takes approximately 1-2 hours and often simply involve two needle punctures in the groins without the need for any incisions. Following completion of the procedure, patients are usually walking and eating within 6 hours, and frequently go home the following morning. Postoperative recovery is minimal and and most are allowed to drive and resume normal activities without restrictions within a week.

(1) The endograft is delivered through the groin using x-ray guidance.
(2) Main device is carefully positioned just below the renal arteries.
(3) The opposite limb of the main device is catheterized in preparation to join the two endografts within the aneurysm.
(4) The final repair with aneurysm completely excluded from the circulation.