Physicians at Miami-based HCA Florida Mercy Hospital became the first in the state to perform a new procedure called thoraflex hybrid complete aortic replacement.
Thoraflex hybrid complete aortic replacement is performed during open-heart surgery to repair or replace damaged sections of the aorta. This new procedure allows the entire aorta to be fixed in one procedure — instead of the traditional two surgeries — with a combination of sewn-in innovative branched graft and an endovascular stent, according to a Nov. 14 release from HCA.
Physicians at HCA performed this procedure on a 65-year-old woman, who became the first in Florida to have her entire aorta replaced using this technique.
"This new procedure significantly reduces the complexity of the surgery and the risk of major adverse events. Our patient, who was discharged home after five days, will go on to live a full, healthy life," Allan Stewart, MD, chief of cardiovascular and thoracic surgery at HCA, said in the release. "As one would expect with the traditional approach, only about half of the patients ever come back to undergo the second surgery."