Gangnam Severance Hospital Aortic Vascular Center Achieves 4,000 Aortic Surgeries

Gangnam Severance Hospital Aortic Vascular Center held a commemorative event for surpassing 4,000 aortic surgeries.
[Photo by Gangnam Severance Hospital]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-joo] The Aortic Vascular Center at Yonsei University Gangnam Severance Hospital announced on the 3rd that it has achieved 4,000 aortic surgeries.

Since performing its first aortic surgery in 2008, the cumulative number of aortic surgeries reached 4,013 as of the 24th of last month. Open-chest and open-abdomen surgeries accounted for 2,614 cases (65%), while hybrid surgeries accounted for 1,399 cases (35%).

Aortic surgeries at Gangnam Severance Hospital have increased significantly every year, starting with 32 cases in 2008. Following the opening of the hybrid operating room in 2012, the number further increased, surpassing 300 cases annually in 2017, reaching 405 cases in 2019, and already exceeding 480 cases as of October this year, approaching 500 cases.

Aortic disease often shows almost no symptoms until the condition has progressed significantly, leading to many life-threatening emergencies such as aortic dissection or rupture. To improve survival rates of emergency patients, the Aortic Vascular Center at Gangnam Severance Hospital operates the 'RAPID' rapid treatment system, with medical staff on standby 24 hours a day.

When an emergency patient occurs at an external hospital, all medical staff at the Aortic Vascular Center share the patient's data and begin surgical preparations through the RAPID system. This has reduced the surgical mortality rate to around 3%, and the center has been recognized globally, designated as an aortic surgery training center by multinational medical device companies Medtronic, Cook Medical, Cordis, and Artivion.

The center is also committed to updating the latest aortic surgical methods and devices. After introducing the hybrid stent graft device 'E-vita OPEN NEO' for the first time in Korea last year, it achieved 50 cases?the first in Asia?within nine months, and in May of this year, succeeded in the first domestic 't-Branch' stent graft procedure.

Director Song Seok-won said, "Since the opening of the hybrid operating room in 2012, the medical staff at the Aortic Vascular Center have been continuously learning and researching to shorten treatment periods for aortic disease patients and reduce complications and mortality rates." He added, "Going forward, it is crucial to strengthen personnel and equipment support so that the Aortic Vascular Center can grow into a hospital-scale specialized treatment institution."

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