St. Peter's Hospital succeeds in EVAR treatment of a high-risk abdominal aortic aneurysm

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Complex vascular treatment proves university-hospital-level capability

St. Peter's Hospital Hepatobiliary-Pancreatic & Vascular Center,

Successful EVAR treatment of a high-risk abdominal aortic aneurysm patient

- Park Kwan-tae, surgical director of the Hepatobiliary-Pancreas & Vascular Center, successfully treats a saccular abdominal aortic aneurysm suspected of infection

- Successful university-hospital-level complex EVAR procedure… the patient was discharged after a two-day stay and is being followed as an outpatient

- St. Peter's Hospital strengthens one-stop specialized vascular care covering the full range of vascular diseases

▲Dr. Park, Kwan Tae, Hepatobiliary-Pancreatic & Vascular Center, St. Peter's Hospital

St. Peter's Hospital's Hepatobiliary-Pancreas & Vascular Center has proven university-hospital-level vascular care through a highly complex operation.

St. Peter's Hospital (President Yoon, Kangjun), a general hospital focused on spine, joint and cerebro-cardiovascular care, announced that Park Kwan-tae, Director of General Surgery at its Hepatobiliary-Pancreatic & Vascular Center, successfully treated a high-risk patient with a suspected infectious ‘saccular’ abdominal aortic aneurysm using ‘abdominal aortic aneurysm stent insertion (EVAR)’.

According to the Korean Society for Vascular Surgery, abdominal aortic aneurysm is a vascular disease caused mainly by degenerative change; it can be life-threatening if it ruptures and is difficult to treat. Saccular abdominal aortic aneurysms in particular can grow larger over time with an increasing risk of rupture, so they demand even more precise treatment.

This patient's case in particular was high-risk: unlike a typical abdominal aortic aneurysm, an infectious aneurysm caused by bacteria was suspected, so the treatment strategy had to account for both the risk of rupture and the possibility of reinfection after treatment. Park Kwan-tae, general surgery specialist, analyzed the patient's overall condition and comorbidities from multiple angles and decided to perform abdominal aortic aneurysm stent insertion.

Abdominal aortic aneurysm stent insertion is a procedure in which a ‘stent-graft’, a type of artificial vessel, is inserted into the blood vessel to block blood flow into the aneurysm. This is effective in lowering the pressure on the aneurysm and reducing the risk of rupture.

In particular, because the stent is inserted through a catheter after a small local skin incision, with no open surgery, it is highly applicable even to elderly patients or those with comorbidities. That said, it requires demanding, precise technique and specialized expertise, and is regarded as one of the advanced vascular treatments performed mainly at university and tertiary general hospitals.

The Hepatobiliary-Pancreatic & Vascular Center team led by Director Park Kwan-tae performed the operation carefully and precisely on the hospital's specialist infrastructure, completing it successfully in about an hour. The patient remained stable after the stent insertion, recovered smoothly and was discharged after a two-day stay; outpatient follow-up shows good recovery with no notable abnormal findings.

Led by Director Park Kwan-tae, a general surgery specialist with extensive clinical experience in general and abdominal surgery, St. Peter’s Hospital is working to build up its Hepatobiliary-Pancreatic & Vascular Center. As a one-stop vascular center covering the full range of vascular disease, it is strengthening a specialized care system for treatments including complex aortic aneurysm repair, peripheral arterial disease surgery, stent insertion and balloon angioplasty, varicose vein surgery, and the creation and revision of arteriovenous fistulas and grafts (AVF/AVG) required for blood dialysis. On the strength of this achievement, the hospital plans to raise its specialized capabilities in vascular disease to an even higher level.

Director Park Kwan-tae of the Hepatobiliary-Pancreatic & Vascular Center at St. Peter’s Hospital said, “In high-risk vascular treatment, what matters most is to draw on specialized expertise, monitor the patient’s condition closely to the end, and establish a safe treatment plan.” He added, “We will continue to strengthen our integrated treatment capabilities across the full range of vascular disease — from diagnosis to tailored treatment and follow-up care — and provide high-quality medical services that patients in the region can turn to with confidence.”