1st August 2011

First UK use of abdominal stent

A new abdominal aortic stent, used to repair aneurysms, has been implanted in the UK for the first time reports Medtech Business.

 

Vascular surgeons at Manchester Royal Infirmary (MRI) have implanted the Ovation abdominal stent graft from TriVascular in four patients, who are all recovering well.

The Ovation, the smallest stent available, could make endovascular aortic repair (EVAR) available to a much greater number of patients with aortic aneurysms.

EVAR, a minimally invasive procedure, involves making a small cut in the skin of the groin and guiding a stent into the artery, where it will allow blood to by-pass the aneurysm.

For some patients with narrow arteries, EVAR can be dangerous because traditional stents are too large (8mm in diameter). The Ovation stent is 4–5mm in diameter, making it much easier to place within the artery. It contains a polymer that expands to fit the artery wall, creating an effective seal.

“Our team was delighted to be the first in the UK to trial this new device, and we believe there will be major benefits for patients,” said Mr Ferdinand Serracino-Inglott, who carried out the surgery.

“It is a much simpler and less traumatic procedure for the patient, can be done with a spinal epidural rather than general anaesthetic and just involves an overnight stay in hospital. There are fewer risks of damage to the artery, and only a small nick in the skin is required to insert the stent, so recovery is extremely quick. All these factors mean that the option of EVAR will be available to many more patients for whom surgery with standard-sized stents may be too risky.”

The MRI will be one of three UK centres involved in a pan-European evaluation of the Ovation device with 500 patients over the next 4 years.

Based in Santa Rosa, California, TriVascular supplies endovascular grafts designed to advance and expand the use of EVAR.