Dr. Michael Watkins’ research involves new therapies for the repair of thoracic aortic aneurysms. His scientific investigation focuses on the effect of an experimental drug, PJ34, in preventing systemic inflammation and decreasing possible spinal cord injury following surgical repair of aortic aneurysms in the thorax.
Within the last decade, minimally invasive technologies (endovascular repairs) have revolutionized the treatment of abdominal aortic aneurysms by reducing the duration of hospitalization, blood utilization and perioperative complications.
However, progress in applying endovascular techniques to the treatment of complicated thoroabdominal aneurysms has been less successful, primarily because of where the aneurysm is located and the overall stress the operation puts on a patient. Thoroabdominal aneurysms are particularly difficult to treat because they traverse into body cavities (the chest and abdomen), they usually begin close to the great vessels supplying the brain and arms, and they terminate near the major vessels supplying the kidneys, intestines and lower extremities. Consequently, the primary treatment for complex throacoabdominal aneurysms remains open surgical repair.
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