Open Repair of an Aortic Aneurysm: Jerry's Story
Transcript

Jerry Austin:
About 10 years ago, I had some pain in my side. I went to the emergency room and they did a CAT scan and the doctor told me, he said, "You've got an aortic aneurysm." They said, "Well, no surgeon will touch it right now because it's still relatively small." But over the years, it kind of got bigger and bigger and bigger, and then it got to the point where it could be operated on, and I asked the doctor to refer me up to UVA because I'd done some research and I found out that UVA was the place to go.

W. Darrin Clouse, MD:
Jerry came and was very animated and very active. He was in outstanding shape for someone of his age, and he was concerned because he wanted to maintain his active lifestyle as well as have a durable option for his aneurysm, simply because he figured he was going to live a long time.

We know that about 10 to 15 years after Stent-Graft Repair, the durability becomes a question. With Open Repair, once the aneurysm is resected and a graft sewn in, the aneurysm is gone, and we know the durability of that repair long term is quite good.

Jerry Austin:
The Open Repair is a little bit more risky upfront, but you've got a permanent solution. You don't have to worry about 10 years down the road having to have something else done.
Now, surgery was scheduled for 7:30. I got in there, and I mean, within 30 minutes, they were putting me under. And then I woke up in the intensive care, and everything went great.

W. Darrin Clouse, MD:
Jerry did a great job. He was in such great shape. He left the hospital in five days, was asking within a couple of weeks how much he could do and if he could do more and if he could do more.

The benefit of getting your aortic care at UVA is that we have a full spectrum of specialists who can treat your aortic disease with open operations, with less invasive treatment, or with a combination of both depending upon your anatomy and what your needs are.

Jerry Austin:
I believe that a person can stay physically active and be in really super good health up until the day they just fall over and don't work no more. So I'm looking at from here on out hopefully good health. I've got longevity in my blood.