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Vascular specialists can repair aortic aneurysms with endovascular stent grafts in many patients including those whose overall health makes open surgery too dangerous. During the procedure they insert a catheter into an artery in the groin and, using x-ray guidance, thread the catheter to the damaged area of the aorta. Within the catheter is a stent graft, a tube made of a special synthetic material, that can expand as it is released from the catheter. At the aneurysm (or dissection) the stent graft is expanded so that it attaches to the aorta above and below the area of disease thereby "bridging or re-lining" the damaged portion of the aorta. The stent graft provides a reinforced channel for the blood to flow through, reducing the pressure on the damaged area of the artery and helping to prevent a rupture. Patients generally go home the following day.
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