Aortic Disease Program

Why choose Henry Ford for aortic disease care?

Physicians throughout the region refer the most complex aortic disease cases to our team because of our breadth and depth of experience. When you turn to our Aortic Disease Program, you’ll find:

• Multispecialty approach: Our aortic disease clinic offers the coordinated input of experts across multiple specialties. Leaders in heart surgery, vascular surgery, cardiology, radiology and anesthesiology work together to plan your care.
• High volumes, excellent outcomes: Our patient volumes are in the top 1 percent of all aortic surgery centers in the country. This high level of experience translates to a lower risk of complications, lower mortality rates and better outcomes overall.
• Research and clinical trials: We investigate the latest techniques and devices for treating aortic disease. Our surgeons are exploring new uses for branched and fenestrated (containing holes that line up with arteries) stent-grafts. These grafts make less invasive procedures available to you if you are high-risk or have a complex condition.
• Advanced aortic aneurysm treatments: Our surgeons perform thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysm (TAAA) repair and endovascular repair of the ascending aorta and aortic arch. Few centers have the expertise to perform such technically challenging procedures on hard-to-treat areas of your aorta.
• Minimally invasive options: Our surgeons excel in endovascular aneurysm repair, a minimally invasive alternative to open-chest surgery. If you aren’t a candidate for open aorta surgery, you now have new treatment options that can help you recover faster and with less pain.

Aortic diseases we treat

Your aorta is the largest blood vessel in your body. It carries blood away from your heart to the rest of your body. Problems in your aorta can cause life-threatening complications. That’s why it’s so important to get an aortic disease diagnosis and treatment from an experienced team.

The most common aortic diseases we treat are:

• Aortic aneurysm: An aortic aneurysm is a weakened area in the wall of your aorta. It causes a balloon-like bulge that may dissect (tear) or rupture (burst).
• Aortic dissection: An aortic dissection is a tear in the inner layer of your aorta, causing blood to flow between layers. Most dissections require immediate treatment
• Aortic valve disease: Aortic valve disease means the valve (flap) between your heart and aorta isn’t working properly. Experts from our Aortic Disease Program and Center for Structural Heart Disease work together to address conditions that affect your aorta and aortic valve.

Our aortic disease specialists also have experience caring for:

• Aortic intramural hematoma (bleeding in the wall of the aorta)
• Aortic ulcers, infections and inflammation
• Atherosclerosis of the aorta (plaque build-up in the aorta)
• Coarctation of the aorta (a narrowed aorta, present at birth)
• Endoleaks (blood leaking around an existing stent-graft)
• Genetic conditions that cause aortic aneurysms such as Marfan syndrome and Ehlers-Danlos syndrome
• Pseudoaneurysms of the aorta (pooled blood from an injured artery)

Our aortic disease treatments

Our aortic disease team provides careful monitoring for you when you have small or low-risk aneurysms that don’t need treatment right away. We may recommend medication and lifestyle changes to prevent the aneurysm from worsening. If you need more advanced aneurysm treatment, we draw on our vast surgical capabilities to tailor treatment to your needs.

Our expertise in heart surgery and vascular surgery makes us uniquely qualified to offer both open aortic surgery and minimally invasive endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR). We also specialize in hybrid surgery, which combines open and endovascular techniques in a single procedure. Learn more about aortic disease treatment at Henry Ford.