Billings, Montana, June 10, 2008 - St. Vincent Healthcare is proud to report the first repair of a traumatic torn aorta with an endovascular stent. Drs. Barry Winton and Joe Dillard recently saved the life of a Wyoming man flown to St. Vincent after falling 30 feet off a ladder. Dr. Barry Winton with St. Vincent Healthcare’s Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgeons says: “If it hadn’t been for his other injuries, our patient could have been released the next day.”
“This procedure has revolutionized the treatment of this problem,” says Dr. Joe Dillard, an interventional radiologist with Eastern Radiological Associates. Drs. Winton and Dillard repaired the torn aorta with a gortex covered stent inserted through an incision in the groin.
The traditional repair of a torn aorta involves major cardiovascular surgery, bypass, several days in the hospital and significant pain and potential complications. Drs. Dillard and Winton avoided surgery with this minimally invasive procedure. The first procedure of this kind performed in the state of Montana.
The device inserted to repair the patient’s torn aorta is a device made by Gore Medical. This stent, called a GORE TAG® Endograft was created and approved to repair descending thoracic aortic aneurysms by way of endovascular repair. It is inserted through a small incision in the patient’s groin using a flexible catheter delivery system.
This alternate treatment to open surgery is currently available at St. Vincent Healthcare’s Cardiac Cath Lab, the only hospital in eastern Montana. “Whether used for an aortic aneurysm or a torn aorta this procedure significantly reduces pain and complications and allows a patient to return to normal activities far earlier,” says Winton. “This treatment will benefit many patients with aortic problems and has been proven to save lives and improve outcomes.”