in an endovascular stent graft repair, the surgeon makes a small incision in the groin area to allowal artery. then a catheter is guided up through the femoral artery to the aneurysm. a stent goes up through the catheter to the aneurysm, and it either expands on its own to strengthen the artery wall, or it is expanded with an angioplasty balloon. stent graft procedures are minimally invasive and do not have the risks or complications of major surgery. patients heal faster and spend less time in the hospital. average is between two to three days in the hospital. even after the minimally invasive procedure, patients need to monitor the size of the aneurysm and make some lifestyle modifications to stay healthy. >> i continued being taken care of every six months or so. every year, they would take ultrasounds and to see how the triple "a" was growing. and i took all the care that they asked me to take care, like i used to have high blood pressure, and i also was starting to have diabetes, so i had to control my diet, control my blood pressure. and i started doing exercise and walk as muc