Perhaps people are still relatively new to abdominal aortic aneurysms, but they are actually not uncommon. The abdominal aorta is the large artery in the abdomen of the body. And abdominal aortic aneurysm is a disease caused by the body’s abdominal aorta dilating and swelling to a certain degree for some reason. Aneurysm is not the same as what we usually understand as a tumor. A tumor is a growth in the body that grows larger and larger. At a certain point, the tumor can invade surrounding organs or metastasize to distant organs. Unlike abdominal aortic aneurysm, which is an enlargement of the abdominal aorta, it is like blowing up a balloon. It is a benign disease in itself, but it is very aggressive. If the abdominal aorta suddenly enlarges and dilates to a certain extent, it is likely to rupture and cause a fatal hemorrhage, as if the balloon has been blown up. The abdominal aorta is the part of the body with a relatively high incidence of aneurysms in the large arteries. The incidence of aneurysms is most common in the elderly, who suffer from atherosclerosis. The incidence is about 8% among 65-year-olds. How large is an aneurysm dangerous? How large can an aneurysm be called an aneurysm, and how large is it specifically dangerous? In general, abdominal aortic aneurysms are twice the size of the surrounding normal vessels. A normal abdominal aortic vessel is approximately 1.5 cm to 5 cm in diameter, and a vessel that is more than twice that size is called an aneurysm. If it continues to expand and approaches 4 or 5 cm or more, then the risk is great. The current international standard is that if the aneurysm is close to 5cm, or if the aneurysm is less than 5cm, but the rate of expansion is relatively fast, increasing by 7mm in six months, then it is more dangerous. Therefore, if the aneurysm grows faster or the size is close to 5cm, you should seek medical attention promptly. In addition, female patients need active treatment even if the aneurysm is << span="">5cm in diameter. What are the symptoms of abdominal aortic aneurysm? Abdominal aortic aneurysms are generally asymptomatic in their early stages, or when they do not reach a certain size. For abdominal aortic aneurysms under 4 or 5 cm in diameter, the risk of rupture of the aneurysm is relatively small and the patient has no obvious symptoms and may only occasionally feel a throbbing mass in the abdomen. Early detection is usually not easy because the aneurysm does not obviously cause much pain to the patient. As the aneurysm increases in size, other symptoms will appear. The first of these is pain. When the pain increases, it is often a sign that the aneurysm is about to rupture, or even has ruptured, before it is too late. Sometimes the patient may feel a tinge of vague pain because the mass is large and uncomfortable to hold there. In larger diameter abdominal aortic aneurysms, the shell becomes thin and painful when pressed. Another symptom is arterial embolism. Because of the local expansion of the blood vessel, a vortex is created when the blood flows, and this vortex causes a thrombus to form in the inner layer of the arterial wall, which is medically known as an appendage thrombus. Once these thrombi are dislodged, they will flow with the blood to the lower extremities, causing embolism of the lower extremity arteries. Patients may experience sudden pain in the lower extremities and may even be unable to walk. In some cases, abdominal aortic aneurysms are discovered because of ischemia in the lower extremities. Therefore, most aneurysms are discovered occasionally by the patients themselves, while some patients have aneurysms that are discovered during normal physical examinations. For example, a checkup for ultrasound of the liver, gallbladder, kidney and spleen, a CT examination of the abdomen or pelvis, and a large bulge in the aorta is found by chance. How is an abdominal aortic aneurysm treated and do I need surgery? Generally speaking, those under 3 or 4 cm and without symptoms can be treated conservatively without surgery for the time being. Conservative treatment is to control atherosclerosis, change bad habits, such as quitting smoking, adjusting the diet, and controlling high blood pressure. At the same time, ultrasound Doppler examination or CT examination should be done every six months to a year to understand the progress rate of aneurysm and the change of size. When the aneurysm has reached 4 or 5 cm or more, surgical intervention should be considered. This is because at this time, the chances of aneurysm rupture are higher and the risk is high. What are the means of surgical intervention? There are two main surgical treatments for aneurysms: one is the traditional open surgery. One is traditional open surgery, which involves cutting out the aneurysm and replacing it with an artificial blood vessel to restore normal blood flow, thus eliminating the risk of aneurysm rupture. Although this surgery is more invasive, it is more thorough and is a good treatment if the patient is generally well and tolerates the surgery well. Another surgical treatment is the stenting technique, which has been developed relatively rapidly in the last decade or so, to isolate the lumen of the blood vessel by placing a large stent with a membrane in the lumen of the aorta. The so-called isolation means that the stent is placed inside the vessel so that blood flows through the stent without exerting pressure on the aneurysm wall, thus avoiding the risk of aneurysm rupture. This technique is relatively new and less invasive, requiring only a small incision of four or five centimeters at the root of each thigh. This procedure needs to be done under a large contrast machine. This is called endoluminal isolation, also called endoluminal stent implantation. The Department of Vascular Surgery at Tsinghua Changgeng Hospital adopts the latest puncture technique to treat abdominal aortic aneurysms. Some patients do not need an incision, and the procedure can be completed simply by puncture, and they can go down on the same day with a smooth recovery, truly achieving a minimally invasive treatment effect.