It’s been called a ticking time bomb in the body, especially for men over
age 60. Abdominal aortic aneurysms can rupture at any moment, causing almost
certain death. Two Eastern Iowa brothers faced this same condition and supported each other along the way.
Growing up, Tom and Richard Sullivan shared many experiences
together. Now as retirees, they share a common goal – to recover from a potentially fatal condition.
When Tom found out he had an abdominal aortic aneurysm, his
brother Richard was one of the first to hear about it. As it turns out, that conversation probably saved Richard’s life.
"It’s like a balloon, and it keeps getting bigger. The bigger it
gets it can actually burst, and they keep saying if it does burst the likelihood of survival from an aneurysm bursting is probably only 1 or 2 percent," says Tom.
Richard was eventually diagnosed with the same condition. Together,
these brothers learned about a minimally-invasive treatment option, available
at University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics.
Jamal Hoballah, M.D., a leading vascular surgeon in the treatment of aortic aneurysms, suggested a device called a stent-graft to correct Tom and Richard’s condition.
"It is much easier on the patient to recover from this type of operation.
Typically, they are almost ready to go home on the second day or the most after 48 hours from the operation," says Hoballah.
The animation shows how the graft expands within the aorta, alleviating pressure in the aneurysm and strengthening the artery wall. Because the
procedure is minimally invasive, both Tom and Richard avoided many of the complications associated with open abdominal surgery.
"When I heard about Tom and Dr. Hoballah – and just incisions in the
groin and a short time in the hospital, like less than a week in the hospital.
It was fantastic news! Just like getting a whole new heart." Together, these brothers look forward to sharing even more experiences in the future.
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