Deborah Heart and Lung Center has announced that its vascular surgery department is successfully performing Thoracic Endovascular Aortic Repair (TEVAR), a minimally-invasive life-saving procedure used to treat patients with aortic aneurysms in the chest. Deborah is one of the few South Jersey hospitals to be using this technique.

According to Dr. Kane Chang, Director of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery at Deborah, thoracic aneurysms affect 10 out of 100,000 elderly Americans, and data suggests that the rate of this condition is increasing steadily. “There are an estimated 60,000 Americans with a thoracic aortic aneurysm,” said Dr. Chang “but often they are symptomless and so few are ever diagnosed. When these aneurysms rupture they are often fatal.

Dr. Chang noted that risk factors for these aneurysms include smoking, atherosclerosis, hypertension, and congenital disorders like Marfan’s syndrome. “TEVAR allows us to treat patients with large thoracic aneurysms in a minimally invasive manner, significantly decreasing the potential complications associated with the traditional open repair,” he added. “Patients in the past that would be too high risk for the open surgical repair are now able to be safely treated using these minimally invasive techniques.”

For more information about TEVAR and Deborah’s vascular surgery program, please call 609-893-1200 ext. 4799.