UP PGH Vascular

05/02/2026

A ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm (RAAA) is a life-threatening emergency that happens when the main blood vessel in the abdomen suddenly bursts. It often strikes without warning and can cause severe internal bleeding.
The traditional treatment for RAAA is urgent laparotomy. This however is associated with high morbidity and mortality rates even in the best medical centers abroad. Endovascular repair, on the other hand, has emerged as the treatment of choice for treatment of an intact aneurysm. Here we report of a successful treatment by our team in a 63 y/o male with multiple co-morbidities presenting with severe back pain which on CT revealed an AAA with contained rupture.

12/10/2025

Cephalic Arch Stenosis is one of the more common causes of fistula (AVF) dysfunction, especially fistulas created at the elbow (antecubital, brachiocephalic). The mainstay of treatment is balloon angioplasty.

The vascular surgeons at the Philippine General Hospital have extensive experience in the management of various problems associated with your access.

19/09/2025

Juxta-anastomotic (JA) stenosis refers to a narrowing of the outflow vein proximal to the arteriovenous fistula (AVF) anastomosis. This is a major cause of AVF dysfunction and hence should be diagnosed and treated early.
In our institution, this is often treated with balloon angioplasty. Patient gets to go home right after the procedure and the AVF can be cannulated for hemodialysis right away.

08/05/2025

Publish or Perish?

Well maybe not but aside from clinical work, research forms an integral part of our practice. As you know, the field of vascular surgery is always evolving so new techniques or findings can directly impact patient care. This are some of our humble contributions to the vast body of knowledge in vascular surgery.

07/04/2024

CERAB (Covered Endovascular Reconstruction of the Aortic Bifurcation) is now increasingly being done (at least in 1st world countries) in the treatment of aortoiliac occlusive disease. We present a 94 y/o F who presented with non-healing wound on the L foot associated with severe aortoiliac occlusive disease treated by modified CERAB. To our knowledge, this is the 1st report of the procedure being done in the Philippines

08/03/2024

03/03/2024

The mainstay of treatment for acute DVT (deep vein thrombosis) is anticoagulation. However, studies have shown that these patients tend to do better in the long term if the clot is removed.

Presenting a patient who presented with severe DVT (phlegmasia cerulea dolens) treated with mechanical thrombectomy (Angiojet), followed by angioplasty and stenting of the L common femoral vein

19/11/2023

Endovascular Repair of an aortic aneurysm is not for everybody. There are certain anatomic criteria which need to be complied for optimal outcome. One important criteria is the diameter of the aortic bifurcation (minimum 20mm).

This is a patient with a severely calcified aorta and stenotic aortic bifurcation (approx 6.5 mm) where the vascular team successfully deployed a aortic endograft with good outcome

30/01/2023

HYBRID does not only pertains to cars. In surgery, a hybrid procedure refers to one where a part is done OPEN and another ENDOVASCULAR.

In this patient with a combined Crawford type V thoracoabdominal and infrarenal aortic aneurysm, the 1st stage was done OPEN (i.e. infrarenal aortic repair with total renovisceral debranching). The 2nd stage was done ENDOVASCULAR (i.e. TEVAR). Procedures were done successfully with no complications

30/01/2023

All SMILES after a successful endovascular procedure 😁 Also the last major case of our outgoing fellow, Dr. Poch, who will be going to Japan for an aortic fellowship.

21/11/2022

Thoraco-abdominal aneurysms are one of the most challenging disease conditions a vascular surgeon has to treat. The procedure may entail opening the chest and abdomen, with the aorta replaced under cardiopulmonary bypass, and carries a high morbidity and mortality rate.
Endovascular and hybrid techniques have been reported in an effort to reduce the risks of surgery. The PGH Vascular team recently performed infrarenal aortic repair with total reno-visceral debranching on a 64 y/o M with severe COPD as 1st stage procedure. 2nd stage TEVAR will be performed thereafter.

06/11/2022

Blunt injuries to the aorta are relatively rare but highly lethal, with up to 80% of patients dying before reaching the hospital. Management has undergone dramatic changes over the past 2 decades, with endovascular repair (TEVAR) now emerging as the preferred treatment modality. Here at PGH, we performed the 1st hybrid endovascular treatment of a patient with traumatic aortic injury in the Philippines