An aneurysm has the potential to rupture and can cause life threatening results.

Lyle Ingersoll had to have an aneurysm in is abdomen repaired about 6 years ago. "Dr. Sadighi has always told me that there is an occasion that they will come back in another area once you've had an aneurysm."

And Dr. Sadighi was right. Recently Lyle was diagnosed with another aneurysm, a thoracic aortic aneurysm or TAA, which was in his chest. "Basically an aneurysm is a ballooning of blood vessel, anytime you fix an aneurysm in that area there was anywhere between 8 to 30% risk of paralysis after repairing of those aneurisms."

Recently Dr. Sadighi teamed up with local heart surgeon Dr. Brian Hummel. Together they now treat these types of aneurysms using an endovascular graft. "And that's by putting a stent graphed through small incisions in the groin and putting it inside the artery and excluded the aneurysm. With this new technique the risk of that particular paralysis is down to about 4 to 5 %."

Lyle says "They could do it without opening me all of the way." Lyle spent one night in the hospital, and says he's feeling great and happy to resume a normal lifestyle.

Your risk of developing a TAA increases with your age and it occurs more often in men then women.