Stenting Surgery Could Prevent Heart Injury Deaths

TUESDAY, Jan. 30, 2007 (HealthDay News) -- Minimally invasive "endograft" repair of a tear in the aorta -- the main artery leading from the heart to the rest of the body -- may save more lives than traditional open chest surgery, Canadian researchers report.

Tears to the aorta are the second most common cause of death in people injured in vehicle crashes or falls. Nine out of 10 people who suffer a tear to the aorta bleed to death at the scene, according to background information in a news release.

Many patients who do make it to the hospital die, because open-chest surgery to repair a tear in the aorta is extremely risky when patients have other serious injuries. Endograft, which uses a fabric tube supported by a stent to repair aortic tears, is less risky, because it can be done without having to open the patient's chest. The endograft is installed via a catheter that's inserted through an incision in the groin.

This study included 28 patients with blunt thoracic aortic injury who were treated at McGill University Health Centre in Montreal. Sixteen of the patients were treated with open chest surgery, and 12 were treated with an endograft.

All of the patients who received endograft repair survived, compared with 69 percent of those who had open chest surgery.

"Many of these young and otherwise healthy people die of aorta injuries after reaching the hospital, because their bodies haven't stabilized enough to undergo surgery," study author Dr. Oren Steinmetz, associate professor at McGill, said in a prepared statement.

"Placing an endograft allows us to correct a life-threatening problem sooner and in a far less invasive and less dangerous way. Then, we can also more easily treat the other injuries," Steinmetz said.

The findings were expected to be presented Monday at the International Symposium on Endovascular Therapy in Hollywood, Fla.

More information

The Society for Vascular Surgery explains endovascular stent graft.