History of Endovascular Aneurysm Repair

Abstract

The first report in this field is “The Ebers Papyrus” (2000 BC). The writer describes probable peripheral aneurysm, and recommends “treat it with a knife and burned it with a fire so that it bleeds not too much.” Many others reports by other authors described the problem and proposed different kinds of treatments, like Galen (A.D. 131–200), Antyllus (a second century Greek surgeon), Aetius of Amida in his book “De Vasorum Dilatatione” (77th century), Ambroise Paré (1510–1590), Andreas Vesallius, John Hunter (1785), Astley Paston Cooper (1817), Rudolph Matas, (April 9, 1923). All of them developed and continued the concept of “ligation and treat the sac.” But the new era of aneurysm repair were made possible by Alexis Carrel (1873–1948), an expert who prepared and used his own silk sutures with vaseline. He demonstrated in animals that a segment of aorta could be replaced with a piece of another artery or vein, and successfully anastomosed blood vessels. In 1912, he was awarded with the Nobel Prize for his work. He wrote about the intubation of blood vessels, the seeds of the endovascular concept”.