Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm:
A Patient Success Story
Spring 2005
Ann Alexander had a potentially life-threatening
aortic
aneurysm. Fortunately, some digestive problems
and a
routine test may have saved her life. “A
few years ago, I underwent an upper GI procedure.
It was during this procedure that they discovered
the
aneurysm. It was between my kidneys and the arteries
down my leg,” said Mrs. Alexander, 73,
a Maryland
homemaker and retired secretary.
An abdominal
aortic aneurysm, the most common type of aneurysm,
occurs in the aorta, or the main artery
that carries blood from the heart to the rest
of the body.
If the aneurysm increases in size and ruptures,
it is
almost always fatal.
Mrs. Alexander immediately sought treatment for
the aneurysm from a local hospital and consulted
with
surgeons in her hometown of Millington, Maryland.
However,
as a Jehovah's Witness, she required bloodless
medical management and felt uncertain about the
surgery's success if she chose to undergo
the procedure
at one of the local health care facilities. “My
niece told me about Pennsylvania Hospital,”
Mrs. Alexander said. She learned about the hospital's
Center for Bloodless Medicine and Surgery (CBMS)
from
information distributed through her congregation.
“I
felt very comfortable and confident with
Pennsylvania Hospital,” she said. Keith
D.
Calligaro, MD, chief of vascular surgery and
part
of the Center for Bloodless Medicine and Surgery
team at Pennsylvania Hospital (see profile on
back cover), performed the operation.
Mrs. Alexander, a mother of four children and
grandmother
to 10 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren,
received support before and after the surgery
from the
CBMS staff. They helped her complete an advance
medical
directive, which outlined the alternatives to
a blood
transfusion that would be acceptable to her.
In
addition, Patricia
Ford, MD, the Center's medical
director, treated
her with intravenous iron and erythropoietin
to build up
her blood counts prior to the surgery.
An abdominal aortic aneurysm can be surgically
managed in two ways — either through traditional
open
surgical procedures or by using a newer, less
invasive
method called endovascular aortic stent graft
(see next
page for medical explanation). Mrs. Alexander
underwent
an open surgical aneurysm repair. “The
doctors checked
to see if I could undergo the new procedure,
but I wasn't
eligible. I spent 12 days in the hospital after
the surgery,
but everything went well,” she said.
Almost
three years have passed since the surgery and
Mrs. Alexander is back to normal. "I think everything
from the beginning to the end of my surgery couldn't
have been better. Dr. Calligaro is special. I've
recommended Pennsylvania Hospital to my friends
and family," Mrs. Alexander said.
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