Defusing Ticking Time Bombs

Reported October 2006

ANN ARBOR, Mich. (Ivanhoe Broadcast News) -- Spinning 360 degrees every two seconds, Bob Barden knows how to make your heart stop! He's been flying stunt planes for four decades, with "Eddie the Grip" hanging on for dear life!

"We hope we never call him 'Eddie the Slip,'" Barden says.

But it wasn't one of these death-defying tricks that almost stopped Barden's heart. It was an aneurysm in his aorta. He says, "I felt like there was an elephant standing on my chest."

Tens of thousands of Americans live with a ticking time-bomb in their chests, and 15,000 Americans die from ruptured thoracic aortic aneurysms.

"If it ruptures, patients don't make it to the hospital," Himanshu Patel, M.D., a cardiothoracic surgeon at University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, tells Ivanhoe.

A stent endograft lets cardiothoracic surgeons repair problems in the upper part of the aorta without splitting open a patient's chest.

"It's really a very minimally invasive approach," Dr. Patel says.

The intense force of blood pulsing through the aorta can rip the aorta's walls wide apart. The stent graft can now be inserted to re-enforce the wall. A long tube -- guided by X-ray technique -- is snaked up into the aorta from a small incision in the leg or belly.

Dr. Patel says, "That whole aorta is now paved with an endograph, so the blood now flows all within the endograph."

Recovery time is much quicker, and for patients who might not survive open-chest surgery, it could save their life.

The procedure is now available at hospitals around the country. The long-term effects have not yet been established, so follow-up monitoring is needed to detect any problems. The open chest surgery is still considered to be the better long-term option if the patient is healthy.

Click here to Go Inside This Science or contact:

Himanshu Patel, M.D.
Cardiothoracic Surgeon
University of Michigan Health System
Ann Arbor, MI
(734) 936-4974
HJPatel@UMich.edu

A new type of "smart" trash can take the chore out of recycling! Now you can save the environment and make money.

What you throw away may end up powering your home. Researchers are turning garbage into biogas that may one day provide household electricity.

Move over speed traps! New white bars are the latest trick for slowing drivers down on the roadways.

They are the cars of the future -- one uses less gas, and the other doesn't use any gas at all! We'll show you the latest hybrid and get a first look at fuel cell cars.

From Space to Sports: Ultrasound is not just for babies anymore! NASA's latest medical breakthrough may end up helping astronauts and athletes.

There are nearly 600,000 bridges in the United States that could be targets of terrorist attacks or taken down by an earthquake or flood. Now engineers are working on ways to make these targets safer.

Strep throat is the second most common reason children get antibiotics. But what if antibiotics don't do the trick? We have the latest on new drugs to help ease their pain.

This baby looks real, but this doll is giving doctors a chance to practice treating children. This new baby simulator is as close to the real thing as it gets.

An EMG test may be one of the best, but least-used ways to diagnose what's causing your back to ache.

15,000 Americans die each year from ruptures in their aorta. Now they won't need open-chest surgery to repair the damage.

What's really inside a thunderstorm? Why do some roll on by while others strike hard? We reveal the secrets inside the storm.

We take you aboard a weightless plane and find out how NASA is working with aspiring scientists to discover the newest breakthrough in science.