The Hospital Clínico de Zaragoza has performed for the first time a joint operation that has made it possible to treat two life-threatening pathologies in a single operation: a severe aortic valve stenosis and an abdominal aortic aneurysm of almost nine centimeters. The procedure, carried out by the Cardiology and Angiology and Vascular Surgery services using minimally invasive techniques, allowed the patient to be discharged just five days after the operation.
The Minister of Sanidad, Ángel Sanz, stressed that this procedure is «a milestone» for the hospital and «confirms the level of care» that exists in this hospital and the level of the professionals who make up the teams». In addition, he stressed that the approach used, less invasive than conventional surgery, has favoured «the patient to recover very quickly».
The patient was initially diagnosed with a large abdominal aortic aneurysm, a pathology with a high risk of rupture and a mortality rate that can reach 80% or 90%. During the study prior to the intervention, the specialists also detected a severe and symptomatic aortic stenosis, another disease with a significant risk of life if left untreated.
Faced with this situation, both services decided to perform a hybrid and completely percutaneous approach to resolve both pathologies in the same surgical act. The head of the Cardiology Service, José Ramón Ruiz, explained that this option made it possible to avoid open surgery and offer the patient a much faster recovery. «The advantage of the percutaneous is that it has an early recovery for the patient, since it is not an open surgery and the stays are shortened,» he said.
In the first phase of the intervention, the cardiologists implanted a new aortic valve using the Tavi technique, introducing the prosthesis through a catheter through the femoral artery. Subsequently, using the same access, the Vascular Surgery team placed a stent to exclude the aneurysm and eliminate the risk of rupture without the need to open the abdomen.
The head of the Angiology and Vascular Surgery Service, José Manuel Buisán, explained that a normal aorta measures just over two centimeters, while that of this patient reached almost nine centimeters. After an operation of about two and a half hours, the evolution was very favorable. «He was in the ICU for 24 hours as a precaution and on the fifth day he went home being perfectly fine,» he said.
Both specialists have stressed that this intervention would not have been possible without the coordination between numerous hospital services. «Thanks to the collaboration of half the hospital. Without Nursing being involved, without Radiology being involved, without Anaesthesia being behind it, it cannot be done», said Buisán.
This is the first time that the Hospital Clinic has performed both interventions simultaneously in a single procedure. Although a similar case had been dealt with previously, the transactions were carried out separately. After the success obtained, the professionals assure that they will bet on this model again when the clinical characteristics of the patient allow it. «Given the experience and the results, if there is another case we will repeat,» concluded the head of Vascular Surgery.
