Society and culture
Theoretical physicist Albert Einstein underwent an operation for an abdominal aortic aneurysm in 1949 that was performed by Rudolph Nissen, who wrapped the aorta with polyethene cellophane. Einsteins aneurysm ruptured on April 13, 1955. He declined surgery, saying, "I want to go when I want. It is tasteless to prolong life artificially. I have done my share, it is time to go. I will do it elegantly." He died five days later at age 76.Actress Lucille Ball died April 26, 1989, from an abdominal aortic aneurysm. At the time of her death, she was in Cedars-Sinai Medical Center recovering from emergency surgery performed just six days earlier because of a dissecting aortic aneurysm near her heart. Ball was at increased risk as she had been a heavy smoker for decades.Musician Conway Twitty died in June 1993 from an abdominal aortic aneurysm at the age of 59, two months before the release of what would be his final studio album, Final Touches.Actor George C. Scott died in 1999 from a ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm at age 71.In 2001, former presidential candidate Bob Dole underwent surgery for an abdominal aortic aneurysm in which a team led by vascular surgeon Kenneth Ouriel inserted a stent graft:
Ouriel said that the team inserted a Y-shaped tube through an incision in Doles leg and placed it inside the weakened portion of the aorta. The aneurysm will eventually contract around the stent, which will remain in place for the rest of Doles life.
— Associated Press
Actor Robert Jacks, who played Leatherface in Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation, died from an abdominal aneurysm on August 8, 2001, one day shy of his 42nd birthday. His father also died from the same cause when Jacks was a child. Actor Tommy Ford died of abdominal aneurysm in October 2016 at 52 years old.Gary Gygax, co-creator of Dungeons and Dragons, died in 2008 from an abdominal aortic aneurysm at the age of 69. Research
Risk assessment
There have been many calls for alternative approaches to rupture risk assessment over the past number of years, with many believing that a biomechanics-based approach may be more suitable than the current diameter approach. Numerical modeling is a valuable tool to researchers allowing approximate wall stresses to be calculated, thus revealing the rupture potential of a particular aneurysm. Experimental models are required to validate these numerical results and provide a further insight into the biomechanical behavior of the AAA. In vivo, AAAs exhibit a varying range of material strengths from localised weak hypoxic regions to much stronger regions and areas of calcifications.Finding ways to predict future AAA growth is seen as a research priority. Experimental models
Experimental models can now be manufactured using a novel technique involving the injection-moulding lost-wax manufacturing process to create patient-specific anatomically correct AAA replicas. Work has also focused on developing more realistic material analogues to those in vivo, and recently a novel range of silicone-rubbers was created allowing the varying material properties of the AAA to be more accurately represented.