CTVS board certified cardiothoracic surgeon Dr. Jeffrey McNeil was recently the first surgeon in Austin and Central Texas to repair a complex thoracic aneurysm with a new FDA-approved device.

This was the patient’s second lifesaving aortic procedure performed by a CTVS surgeon. The first procedure was an emergency lifesaving surgery for an acute type A dissection, which is a tear in the body’s main artery, the aorta, as it branches off the heart.

The patient then developed a descending thoracic aortic aneurysm, which is a weakened area in the aorta. To repair the patient’s complex aortic disease, Dr. McNeil used the Terumo Thoraflex Hybrid device. The patient did well without any significant complications and was discharged.

Dr. McNeil’s patient was only the sixth person to receive the device in the United States and the first in Central Texas. The FDA approved the Terumo Thoraflex Hybrid device in April.

The Terumo Thoraflex Hybrid device combines traditional woven surgical grafts and stent grafts. The single-use device was designed for open surgical repair or replacement of damaged or diseased aortic arch artery vessels and for repair of the descending thoracic aorta.

The device offers surgeons a new technique option and the opportunity to treat a wider variety of patients. The device shaft is malleable, so it can be shaped to fit each individual patient’s aorta. This makes the device less traumatic on the descending aortic wall and is easier to put into the aorta. The Terumo Thoraflex Hybrid device also offers a range of stent sizes, so it can be used to treat a wider range of patients’ vessel diameters.

Dr. McNeil explained that the device offers an alternative to the traditional technique used to combine a stent graft and Dacron graft, which is more complex and challenging.

He said, “Using this device, the procedure is shorter, there is less need for hypothermia (lowering a patient’s body temperature), less risk for needing a transfusion, less stroke risk, less risk for paralysis and less risk for kidney failure.”

For questions about any of our cardiac, thoracic, or vascular services, please visit ctvstexas.com or call us at (512) 459-8753 to schedule an appointment.

Don’t forget to follow us on Facebook and Instagram and check our blog for regular updates.