This section of the website is designed to provide information to patients about AAA surgery as well as the work that is underway to improve care delivery and safety for AAA patients. Patients are actively involved in improvement work through the AAAQIP and have contributed significantly to the production of the information leaflets below. If you have any queries about anything within our web pages or have any questions that aren't answered by the information provided then please click here for our contact details.
Patient Information Leaflets
AAA Surveillance and Treatment Leaflets
The AAA QIP aims to inform improvements in informed consent for AAA Repair. We have developed new patient information leaflets; one for the suveillance of small AAAs and one for the treatment of AAAs that are of large enough size to be considered for surgery. These have been produced in collaboration with patient groups around the U.K. Patients initially felt the leaflets were too risk orientated and surgical so they have been changed to be more patient friendly. They include up to date information on AAAs; symptoms, causes, diagnosis, treatment options, risks and complications of surgery as well as sources of further information and advice.
If you have a small/medium AAA (3-5.4cm) and are getting regular scans the leaflet below will provide more information for you.
Download AAA Suveillance Patient Information Leaflet (doc)
If you have a large AAA (5.5-7cm) and are being considered for surgery, the leaflet below will provide more information for you on what to expect.
Download Treatment of AAAs Patient Information Leaflet (doc)
If you or a relative have been diagnosed with an Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm you may find our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) page helpful.
FOR VASCULAR CLINICIANS: These leaflets can be adapted and printed within your Trust (see below).
POST DISCHARGE and RECOVERY Leaflets.
A consistent theme that has emerged from our patient groups is that they feel they do not receive enough post operative information, in particular what to expect. Many patients reported that they faced unexpected consequences from AAA surgery and as a result this lead to anxiousness in their recovery. Patients' expectations need to be corrected and hospitals have a responsibility to provide the appropriate information to ensure patients experience the best possible care.
We have produced a 'RECOVERY FROM AAA REPAIR' patient information leaflet for Open and Endovascular procedures. These have been reviewed by our regional patient groups and are available below.
PDF Versions
Download AAA Recovery from OPEN REPAIR Generic Leaflet (April 12) (pdf)
Download AAA Recovery from EVAR Generic Leaflet (April 12) (pdf)
Word Format
Download AAA Recovery Leaflet for OPEN REPAIR (April 12) (doc)
Download AAA Recovery Leaflet for EVAR (April 12) (doc)
Combined Leaflets -currently under review.
Depending on the care pathway within your Trust, if you prefer to give your patients all the infomation at once we have combined the pre-operative and recovery patient information into one leaflet.
Download AAA Open Leaflet (combined) (doc)
Download AAA EVAR Combined Leaflet (June 11)
Anaesthetic Patient Information Leaflets
If you are a patient and want to know more about the anaesthetic procedure for your operation the Royal College of Anaesthetists have developed simple and informative patient information leaflets for anaesthesia.
These include:
1. Anaesthesia explained
2. You and your anaesthetic
3. Your anaesthetic for aortic surgery
These can be accessed via the RCoA website as the leaflets are constantly updated.
Get the AAA QIP patient leaflets printed in your trust...
Hospitals should have up to date and relevant patient information lealfets. The AAAQIP patient information leaflets can be adapted for use within your own hospital. Templates can be taken to your hospital Information Department to insert unit specific contact details as well as to be validated and printed. Our leaflets meet hospital patient information criteria as they have been produced by the Vascular Society's Quality Improvement Programme-an approved external source as well as patient approved.
These leaflets are developed using the guidelines outlined by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE).
The recommendations include:
1. Patients should be offered evidence based written information about:
- Their illness or condition
- The treatment and care they should be offered
- The service providing their treatment and care
Written information should help patients make informed decisions about their health care. This should cover the condition, treatments and the health service providing care. Information should be available in formats appropriate to the individual, taking into account language, age, and physical, sensory or learning disabilities.
2. Carers should be offered similar evidence-based written information
If the patient agrees, families and carers should have the opportunity to be involved in decisions about treatment and care.
We encourage all centres to ensure that they comply with NICE and ensure they are providing AAA patients and relatives with the appropriate evidence based written information. Please use and adapt our patient information template above or find out if your Trust has access to reviewed and approved external AAA information leaflets.
