Contact: Melissa Hamilton
941.629.1181 x6585

100th Endovascular Procedure For AAA Performed At Fawcett 

Port Charlotte, March 31, 2005 -- Each year, approx 15,000 Americans die of something many people have never heard of – a ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm or AAA.

“Because there are often no symptoms, individuals may have no clue that they have an aneurysm until it is too late,” says Dr. Mamoon Jarrah, MD, thoracic and vascular surgeon for more than 20 years at Fawcett Memorial Hospital. “Yet early intervention can save many lives.”

Fawcett Memorial Hospital is the only hospital in the area offering endovascular abdominal aneurysm repair, and Dr. Jarrah recently performed his 100th AAA procedure in the past three years.

“We’ve had very good results with the procedure,” Dr. Jarrah says. “And because we can offer it here, there’s no reason to go out of town to obtain state-of-the-art endovascular care.”

Traditional, or open, surgical repair typically requires a major abdominal incision, two to three hours of surgery, a hospital stay of at least seven days and a six-week recovery period. There is a high complication rate (about 15%), according to Dr. Jarrah. In contrast, endovascular repair requires only two small incisions in the groin, through which the surgeon threads a stent graft that is implanted at the aneurysm site.

“The surgery takes about one-and-one-half hours,” Dr. Jarrah explains. It usually requires just two days in the hospital and a two-week recovery period, and the complication is about half that of open surgery.”

Free AAA screening offered

On May 18th, from 8:00 am to 4:00 pm, Fawcett Memorial Hospital will work in conjunction with Life Line Screening to provide a free screening program for local residents who may be at risk for a threatening disease known as abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA).

Individuals who think they may be at risk for AAA—or who have family members with risk factors—should call 1-800-772-8390 for a brief telephone evaluation that will confirm if they qualify for the free screening. Patients who qualify for a free screening may set up an appointment for an official screening exam during the call.

Fawcett Memorial Hospital and Life Line Screening urge patients who think they may be at risk for AAA to call the toll-free number right away. Early detection of AAA can prevent serious and even fatal outcomes. Screening will be by appointment only.

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