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Dr. Vale Performs Area’s First Non-Invasive
Procedure to Repair Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm

Clinic Surgeon, Jose Vale, M.D. checks on 86-year-old Reedy Pursley in recovery after completing a new
non-invasive procedure that placed a similar graft to the one Pursley is holding to repair his aneurysm.

April 2002
Dr. Vale Performs Area’s First Non-Invasive Procedure to Repair Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm

Reedy Pursley, an active 86-year-old man, had traditional spring plans to cultivate his garden, care for his loving wife, and complete some needed repairs on his home. After a visit to Dr. Comianos, a routine check and a CT scan, it was discovered that Pursley’s abdominal aorta was a ticking time bomb waiting to explode.

Pursley had an abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) that could rupture at anytime. AAA is a silent but deadly condition that occurs most frequently in older adults. After years of blood flow through the arteries, the walls become thin and compromised. Bulges develop putting pressure on the arteries. In an artery as large as the aorta, a rupture means massive loss of blood in a short period of time. This situation would endanger the life of anyone with this condition, let alone a man of Pursley’s years.

He was subsequently referred to Clinic Surgeon, Jose Vale, M.D., and according to Dr. Vale the prognosis for Pursley would have been grim until recently.

Dr. Vale explained, prior to a new non-invasive procedure to repair AAA, patients had to endure open abdominal surgery and inpatient hospitalization of ten days or longer.

Mortality rates are extremely high for older adults diagnosed with an AAA, explained Dr. Vale, around 80%.

Prior to the advent of the new procedure many older adults were not candidates for surgical repair because the risks of an open invasive surgery for many, including Pursley, were just too high.

Upon learning of the new procedure, Dr. Vale took part in training at the University of Pennsylvania through Guidant Corporation. Guidant is the company who developed a reinforcing graft and non-invasive procedure to deploy the graft into the area of the aneurysm by sending the graft through arteries in the groin area to the affected spot.

Once deployed, hooks in the synthetic graft connect to the walls of the aorta. The hooks act as a staple or suture would, allowing the graft and aorta to fuse into one.

After less than 48 hours in the hospital Pursley was home with his family and feeling as well as could be expected..

The procedure was the first of its kind undertaken at Marion General Hospital, and Dr. Vale is the only surgeon in north central Ohio to perform this new surgery, which in Pursley’s case saved his life.

Dr. Vale feels the most significant contribution this new life saving procedure offers is giving older men and women, who have an AAA, a viable surgical alternative for repair without the significant risks and recovery time of an open surgical procedure.