Posted on August 19, 2005 at 3:10 p.m.

BIRMINGHAM, AL — UAB Hospital will present a live webcast of a minimally-invasive procedure to repair an aneurysm of the thoracic aorta on August 23 at 12 noon. William S. Jordan Jr., M.D., chief of the vascular surgery section at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, will perform the surgery.

The minimally-invasive procedure was recently approved. It reinforces a weakened aorta in the thoracic cavity. The thoracic aortic endograft is performed though a groin incision. An artificial artery is placed in the aneurysm like a sleeve, to take the pressure off the arterial wall.

Jordan will lead the surgery in the hospital’s new endovascular suite, which is outfitted with digital fluoroscopic imaging equipment that allows surgeons to perform advanced, minimally invasive, endovascular procedures while maintaining the capability of performing “open” surgery if necessary.