An abdominal aortic aneurysm is one type of aneurysm, and probably the most common. Open surgery is one way to treat it, and becoming less common.<\/p>\n An aneurysm is an abnormality in a blood vessel where it becomes misshapen and stretched. As the abnormality grows in size it becomes more prone to leaking or rupturing, at which point it turns into a medical emergency. But until then they are generally asymptomatic.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you think of the aorta, the big vessel that comes off your heart and travels through your abdomen, it looks like a tube, and this tube has now gotten bigger and looks more like a balloon,\u201d Amankwah says. \u201cAnd that\u2019s what we\u2019re calling the aneurysm.\u201d<\/p>\n Screening for an aneurysm can be life-saving. Primary care physicians can detect something suspicious with a physical exam and order an imaging test. Being male, being over age 65, having a family history of aneurysms, and having a history of smoking are among the characteristics of a good candidate for screening. Aneurysms are more common in men than women.<\/p>\n An alternative to open surgery is an endovascular procedure, a less invasive approach in which the surgeon places a stent in the vessel to redirect the blood flow around the section that\u2019s ballooning.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s no open incision,\u201d Amankwah says. \u201cWe access the vessels in a way similar to when you\u2019re getting an IV put into your vein when you\u2019re getting a blood draw, but we do this through the vessels in the groin area. It\u2019s through very small punctures to get our device in. We\u2019re doing this under X-ray.\u201d<\/p>\n Patients often can go home within 48 hours of an endovascular procedure.<\/p>\n In addition to treating aortic aneurysms<\/a>, UConn Health\u2019s vascular surgeons offer treatment options for carotid artery disease<\/a>, peripheral artery disease<\/a>, renal and mesenteric artery disease<\/a>, and vein disease<\/a> including varicose veins<\/a> and deep vein thrombosis<\/a>.<\/p>\n![\"Dr.](\"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/amankwah_kwame_20190318_kwallace_0479-1x1-300x300.jpg\" "\\"https:\/\/ctpublic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/UCHM-19-4-Vascular.mp3?_=1\\"")