1. Can Abdominal Aneurysms
Be Repaired Genetically?
By: Minerva Perez

2. What is the Aneurysm?
Abdominal aneurysm is when
the presence of weakness of
the Abdominal Aortic wall
forms a bulge like a balloon.

3. Symptoms
Most of the time the Abdominal Aneurysm is
asymptomatic and is discovered during routine
exams.
In patients when the Abdominal Aneurysm enlarges,
Some symptoms as Mayoclinic 22,2013. are:
a) A pulsating feeling near the navel.
b) Deep constant pain in the abdomen or on the
side of the abdomen.
c) Back pain.

4. Treatment
There are two current treatments to aneurysms :
Medical treatment by observation of the Aneurysm.
Open Repair: Abdominal cavity is opened and the
aortic artery is clamped above and bellow the
aneurysm, interrupting the blood flow to the legs
and the other organs.

5. Complications
Open abdominal repair complications:
- “Myocardial infarction (heart attack)
- Irregular heart rhythms (arrhythmias)
- Bleeding during or after surgery
- Injury to the bowel (intestines)
- Limb ischemia (loss of blood flow to legs/ feet)
- Embolus (clot) to other parts of the body
- Infection of the graft
- Lung problems
- Kidney damage” (Hopkins medicine)

6. Complications cont.
“EVAR (Endovascular aneurysm repair) complications:
- Damage to surrounding blood vessels, organs, or other structures by
instruments
- Kidney damage
- Limb ischemia (loss of blood flow to leg/feet) from clots
- Groin wound infection
- Groin hematoma (large blood-filled bruise)
- Bleeding
- Endoleak (continual leaking of blood out of the graft and into the aneurysm
sac with potential rupture)
- Spinal cord injury” (Hopkins medicine)

7. Introducing Genetic
Solutions
A genetic repair of the Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm will
give multiple advantages to the patients such as, less
invasive procedure and shorter recovery time.
This treatment will be based on the medication or
substance created by modified stem cells and
administered by endovascular method and put at the
aneurysm site.

8. How
With knowledge of the way stem cells can be used to
repair heart tissue we can apply the same technique
to abdominal aneurysms to repair the tissue and
therefore, applying a genetic solution to the
problem. (Bethesda, MD.2009)

9. Beneficiaries
This is important to many individuals who
cannot afford to spend too much time
recovering or whose bodies are not healthy
enough to have a successful recovery from
such an invasive procedure. This type of
patient would highly benefit from this
procedure.