Infirmary Health Performs Region’s First Aortic Repair Procedure

Infirmary Health’s Heart & Vascular Institute performed a branched thoracic endovascular aortic repair utilizing the GORE TAG Thoracic Branch Endoprosthesis (TBE). This is the first procedure of its kind along the Greater Gulf Coast, from Jacksonville to New Orleans. The procedure was performed by Cardio-Thoracic and Vascular Surgical Associates physicians Dr. Cullen McCarthy, vascular surgeon, and Dr. Kareem Bedeir, cardio-thoracic surgeon, and the catheterization laboratory team at Mobile Infirmary. The TBE treatment method offers patients with a descending thoracic aorta (including the left subclavian artery) a simplified, minimally invasive approach that minimizes risk and shortens recovery time. Prior to the development of the GORE TAG TBE, a first-of-its kind device, the primary intervention for patients with a descending thoracic aorta that includes the left subclavian artery was open heart surgery.