Endovascular Abdominal Aortic Aneurysmal Repair: A Korean Perspective

Endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR) was initially introduced as a less invasive alternative to conventional open repair. EVAR was subsequently adopted as a treatment option for abdominal aortic aneurysm. In Korea, open repair is more widely available than EVAR, although EVAR can be performed in several hospitals. Due to the rapidly aging population in Korea, there has been a shift from private healthcare to government-regulated universal coverage and EVAR may be a more feasible option for cardiovascular interventionalists in these days. The improvement of EVAR was rapidly attained by many pioneers for the last two decades. Although issues such as indications and durability of EVAR remain to be elucidated, its application can be extended further of milder invasiveness-related effects on comorbidities and less discomfort to patients. Aortic stentgrafting has been performed for various aortoiliac pathologies over the last 13 years at our cardiovascular center.1-3) This article presents a comprehensive review on EVAR by focusing on the clinical trials, indications, complications, and expertise in decision making for EVAR. (Korean Circulation J 2007;37:459-463)