Endovascular Aorta Repair Surveillance

If you have had an abdominal aorta aneurysm and it has reached the size that needs to be treated then it is important to monitor the repair. The sonographer will perform a similar ultrasound scan to the one you underwent prior to the repair.

The main reasons is to assess the size of the residual aneurysm sac and whether there is any blood flow into the sac. If there is still blood flow within the sac then this is known as an endoleak. There are a variety of endoleaks and the sonographer will try to identify the source of the leak. Occasionally the source can’t be identified with ultrasound and a CT angiogram may be required.

Small endoleaks are reasonably common and may simply require Surveillance is typically every 6 to 12 months.

If your aneurysm was repaired using an open surgery technique you may require periodic ultrasound surveillance. The sonographer will perform a similar ultrasound scan to the one you underwent prior to the repair. This involves checking the arteries above and below the repair to ensure that these areas have not become enlarged or developed any significant narrowing. They will look at the segment of the aorta that has been repaired and make sure that the flow is normal and the graft remains stable.

Dr Theivendran will let you know how often you need to have a surveillance ultrasound of your aorta repair.