Rare cardiac surgery to repair aneurysm

"A 61-year-old man got a virtual second lease of life and went home to Goa, India, on Saturday after a team of doctors from the Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences here performed a rare keyhole procedure to repair an aneurysm on the main blood vessel from the heart. The aneurysm, which is a dilatation of the blood vessel on the arch of aorta, was done without an open-chest surgery while preserving the blood flow to the brain. The procedure, called the thoracic chimney technique, is the first to be done in the country, said cardiologist K.K. Haridas, who led the team. Aortic aneurysms are abnormal massive dilatations of the main blood vessel. They have a tendency to distend and rupture over a period of time. Rupture of the blood vessel would have meant immediate death. Aortic aneurysms are seen in one in 10,000 people past the middle age worldwide" - The Hindu