Thoracic endovascular aortic repair

The aorta exits the heart and carries blood to all the organs and the rest of the body. After leaving the heart, the aorta gives branches to the arms and the brain before running down the back of the chest (thorax) into the belly (abdomen). The aorta forks at the level of the belly button (umbilicus) into branches that go down each leg. To fix or "re-line" the aorta, doctors place a device through a small hole in your groin, known as a stent graft. This device is made of a fabric covered metal mesh which is fully opened under x-ray. The device repairs the diseased aorta and helps to keep it open and allow blood to flow properly to the rest of the body. The aorta can be affected by a number of different dieseases including aneurysm, dissection, transection and stenosis.