HIGHLIGHTS
COMPREHENSIVE AORTIC DISEASE
COMPREHENSIVE AORTIC DISEASE
UAB Medicine’ s Comprehensive Aortic Disease program brings together vascular surgeons, cardiothoracic surgeons, cardiologists, anesthesiologists, and genetic specialists to provide world-class care for acute and chronic aortic disease. UAB is a regional referral center for complex aortic conditions and one of the few centers nationwide offering complete treatment of the aorta from the aortic valve to the aortic bifurcation using both open and advanced endovascular techniques. Collectively, our interdisciplinary team has performed thousands of complex aortic procedures, ensuring patients benefit from both breadth of experience and depth of specialization.
Our program is distinguished by bi-weekly multidisciplinary aortic conferences, where vascular and cardiothoracic surgeons jointly evaluate challenging cases, review imaging, and develop individualized care plans.
This structured collaboration ensures that patients receive the most comprehensive, evidence-based, and patient-centered treatment strategies available.
HIGHLIGHTS
• Multidisciplinary approach: Seamless collaboration among vascular and cardiac surgeons, cardiologists, cardiac anesthesiologists, and adult congenital specialists, allowing for an individualized, team-based plan of care.
• Recognition: U. S. News & World Report“ High Performing” recognition for abdominal aortic surgery procedures, aortic valve surgery, and transcatheter aortic valve replacement( TAVR).
• Full-spectrum therapy: Ability to treat the aorta from root to bifurcation using advanced open, hybrid, and endovascular techniques, including branched and fenestrated endografts.
• Minimally invasive expertise: Cutting-edge endovascular solutions for catastrophic aortic conditions such as aortic transection, complicated Type A and Type B aortic dissection, and symptomatic and ruptured ascending, aortic arch, and thoracoabdominal aneurysms.
• Hybrid operating rooms: State-of-the-art facilities with intraoperative 3D imaging for precise device delivery, reduced radiation, minimal contrast use, and shorter operative times.
• Radiation-free endovascular imaging: Among the first centers worldwide to implement Fiber Optic
RealShape( FORS) technology, providing real-time 3D visualization without fluoroscopy.
• Valve and congenital disease expertise: Extensive experience with aortic valve repair in the setting of aneurysmal disease, including bicuspid valve repair, valve-sparing aortic root replacement, and the Ross Procedure, and specialized collaboration with congenital heart disease experts for adult patients with complex anatomy.
• Genetic aortic disease care: Dedicated evaluation and treatment for patients with syndromic and hereditary aortic conditions, supported by a dedicated aortic geneticist for comprehensive and patient-centered treatment of patients with genetic aortopathy.
• Bloodless Aortic Surgery Program: Specialized care for patients who are unable to receive blood transfusions for personal or religious reasons, ensuring safe and effective surgical outcomes.
• Clinical innovation:
• Branched / fenestrated clinical trials for endovascular repair of segments traditionally requiring open repair.
• Total endovascular aortic arch repair( for eligible patients).
• Trials for arch aneurysms in patients not suitable for open surgery.
Rated‘ High Performing’ in AAA Repair and Aortic Valve Surgery by U. S. News & World Report
• National leader in enrollment for multiple clinical trials offering novel open and endovascular
therapies for aortic aneurysms and aortic dissections.
10 UAB Cardiovascular Institute 2025 Annual Report