In his doctoral thesis, Joost van Herwaarden argues that treating patients with dilation (or aneurysm) of the aorta with a tube (stent graft) provides acceptable results in the medium- and long-term.
Since 1991, the treatment of aneurysms no longer involves major abdominal surgery but by introducing a stent graft through the groin and attaching this to the weak spot in the aorta. The main problem with the operation, says Herwaarden, is securing the stent graft to the neck of the aneurysm, which is not a rigid tube but a moveable, pulsating structure.
Van Herwaarden will receive his PhD from Utrecht University on October 20. The title of his thesis is, “Dynamics of Endovascular Aneurysm Repair.”