SPECIALISTS at East Lancashire Hospitals are celebrating after performing their 100th hi-tech aneurysm repair procedure.

Endo-vascular aneurysm repair (EVAR) was first performed at the Royal Blackburn Hospital in October 1999, by consultant radiologist Duncan Gavan and consultant vascular surgeon Simon Hardy.

During the operation, a radiologist feeds tiny catheter tubes through the patients’ arteries from small cuts in the groin, and inserts a special aortic stent into position at the point of the weakened area of the artery.

The stent inflates and locks into position inside the artery, providing vital structure to the blood vessel and helping prevent it from rupturing.

A live-view X-ray of the patient’s body, displayed on a computer screen in front of the radiologist allows them to put the stent in exactly the right place.

Before the procedure was introduced, all patients needing abdominal aortic aneurysm repair would have to be cut open right down the abdomen, in a high-risk operation.As the stents and catheters have advanced over the past decade, the EVAR surgery has become suitable for many more patients.

Dr Gavan said: “When we did our first few, they took around three hours to perform, but now most cases are finished within half that time.

“The radiology has progressed along with the surgery, so we are now able to get clearer images and interpret them better, making the whole procedure easier for everyone. In a lot of cases, we can now do the procedure while the patient is awake and simply under epidural, which is obviously much safer than a large incision under general anaesthetic.”

A ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm can kill in minutes. Around two thirds of those who suffer a rupture die almost instantly, while half of those who make it to hospital afterwards die there.

Spotting the weakened artery, and its characteristic bulging, allows doctors to step in before it has become so weak it is at risk of rupture.

There are many different causes for aortic aneurysms. Most develop in people who are aged 65 or over, meaning an EVAR procedure is more suitable than high-risk open surgery.

Gladys Daniel, 84, of Ightenhill, Burnley, was the team’s 100th EVAR patient, and underwent the surgery last week.

She said: “ At my age, I didn’t really want an operation, but of course I knew what could happen if it ruptured and I didn’t want that either! Knowing I wouldn’t have to be cut open was a big relief.”