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 service 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.
AAA Surveillance and Treatment Patient Information 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 AAA (<5.5cm) and are getting regular scans the leaflet below will provide more information for you.
Download AAA Surveillance Patient Information Leaflet (doc)
If you have a large AAA (>5.5cm) 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 Information for AAA Patients.
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.
Download AAA Recovery Leaflet (OPEN) (doc)
Download AAA Recovery Leaflet (EVAR June 11) (doc)
Combined Leaflets
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...
We are seeking hospitals with out of date AAA leaflets to adopt our recently produced and nationally approved versions as part of the AAA QIP. These 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.
The leaflets are also being developed using the guidelines outlined in the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Technology Appraisal. Our Quality Improvement Programme aims to promote and encourage the standards set out in this appraisal.
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.
The NICE AAA Technology Appraisal guidelines are available below:
Download NICE Technology Appraisal Guidance (pdf)We encourage all centres to ensure that they comply with the recommendations found in the NICE AAA Technology Appraisal 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.
