Five-year results of endovascular aortic repair used according to instructions for use give a good general outcome for abdominal aortic aneurysm.

OBJECTIVES: The primary aim of this study was to investigate the rate of sac enlargement and secondary procedures after 5 years when instructions for use are strictly applied with endovascular aortic repair. The secondary aim was to investigate if strict indications with endovascular aortic repair, rendering more open operations, would change the general outcome of patients with abdominal aortic aneurysm. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Patients having their abdominal aortic aneurysm procedure in a single institution between 01 January 2002 and 31 December 2006 were included. Indications for endovascular aortic repair were as follows: aortic neck: length 15 mm or more, diameter 32 mm or less and straight configuration; iliac arteries: length > 10 mm, 7.5-20 mm in diameter. Sac enlargement was defined as an increase in diameter of 5 mm or more. RESULTS: A total of 123 patients were intended to be treated electively with endovascular aortic repair from 2002 to 2007 using Cook Zenith stent grafts. In the same period, 147 patients were treated with elective open repair. At 5 years, 7.3% (N = 9) of the elective intended-to-treat patients with endovascular aortic repair had a sac enlargement. Thirty-five percent of the patients were registered with endoleaks, 13% of the patients had secondary procedures, 12.2% of the patients had early and 6.5% late complications during the follow-up period. Aneurysm rupture was seen in 1.6% of the patients. During the 5-year follow-up period, 34 (27.6%) of the endovascular aortic repair patients died. Five-year mortality for open repair was 23.8%, and 12.2% of the open repair patients had secondary procedures. CONCLUSION: Endovascular aortic repair for abdominal aortic aneurysm in accordance with instructions for use gives a low long-term risk for increased diameter and low rate of secondary procedures. There was similar mortality after elective endovascular aortic repair and open repair for abdominal aortic aneurysm. Applying endovascular aortic repair according to instructions for use does not seem to change the general outcome of patients with abdominal aortic aneurysm but improves the outcome with the method.

Aortic graft infection and mycotic aneurysm with Streptococcus equi zooepidemicus: two cases with favorable outcome of antibiotic treatment.

Infections with Streptococcus equi zooepidemicus are rare and are associated with contact with animals or animal products. There are very few reports about infected vascular grafts or aneurysms with this etiology. We present two patients. The first is a 77-year-old man with an infected bifurcated graft four years after an open operation for an abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA). The second is a 72-year-old man with a symptomatic mycotic AAA, treated with endovascular aneurysm repair. Both received prolonged treatment with bactericidal antibiotics and responded well. Follow-up time at present is 5.5 years for the first, and 4.5 years for the second, patient.

Improved long-term survival following infrarenal abdominal aortic aneurysm repair.

BACKGROUND: The aim was to investigate early and long-term results following AAA repair during a 20-year period. METHOD: One thousand and forty one patients with AAA were treated with open surgery (905) or EVAR (136) during the period 1983-2002. Comorbidity and factors influencing early and long-term results were investigated. Data were collected retrospectively from the patients' medical records. A complete follow-up was obtained. RESULTS: Women had a significantly higher 30-day mortality following repair of ruptured AAA than men. The degree of emergency, advancing age and renal failure were significantly associated with 30-day mortality. We observed an improvement in long-term survival during the study period. Time interval of surgery, cerebrovascular disease, diabetes, COPD and renal failure influenced long-term survival negatively. CONCLUSION: Women with ruptured AAA have a higher early mortality than men, which needs to be investigated further. Long-term survival has improved during the study period. Age, diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, renal failure and cerebrovascular insufficiency influenced the long-term survival negatively. EVAR is used to an increasing extent and the results are improving.

Infrarenal abdominal aortic aneurysm repair: time-trends during a 20-year period.

BACKGROUND: The goal of the present study was to investigate the number of operations for abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) including time-trends in treatment during a 20-year period. Operating time and anesthesia time were also studied. METHOD: During the period 1983-2002, a total of 1,041 patients with AAA were treated with open surgery (905) or EVAR (136). Number of operations, type of graft, anesthesia time, and operating time were the variables investigated. Data were collected retrospectively from the patients' medical records. RESULTS: There was an increase in the number of operations both for ruptured and non-ruptured AAA in men during the study period. Among women, an increase was observed only for ruptured aneurysm. Operating time and anesthesia time increased significantly during the 20-year period. The number of patients treated by EVAR increased significantly, beginning in 1995. CONCLUSIONS: In conclusion, there has been an increase in the number of AAA operations, and the proportion of patients treated with EVAR is increasing. Furthermore, we found an increase in both anesthesia time and operating time. These trends may be important for allocation of resources needed for the treatment of patients with AAA.

Endovascular repair of abdominal aortic aneurysm in octogenarians: an analysis based on EUROSTAR data.

PURPOSE: To investigate the early and late outcome after endovascular treatment of abdominal aortic aneurysm (EVAR) in octogenarians compared with patients aged < 80 years. METHODS: Patients treated for abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) with endovascular repair during the period 1996 to 2004 were collated in the EUROSTAR registry. This study group consisted of 697 patients aged > or = 80 years. Comparison was made with 4198 patients aged < 80 years with regard to the incidence of preoperative characteristics and outcomes of the procedure. RESULTS: The proportion of octogenarians treated by EVAR increased during the study period, from 11% in the first year to 18% in the last year. Octogenarians more frequently had cardiac disease, impaired renal function, and pulmonary disease (P = .03, P < .0001 and P = .0001). Thirty-two percent of the octogenarians were recorded unfit for open surgery as opposed to 22% in younger patients (P < .0001); they also had a larger aneurysm diameter (62 vs 58 mm, respectively; P < .0001). The 30-day and in-hospital mortality in octogenarians was 5% vs 2% in the younger group (P < .0001). More device-related complications and systemic complications, including cardiac disease, were noted in octogenarians (7% vs 5% and 19% vs 11%, P = .03 and P < .0001, respectively). This group of patients also had a higher incidence of postoperative hemorrhagic complications, including hematoma (7% vs 3%, P < .0001, respectively). No differences in conversion to open repair and post-EVAR rupture rate were observed. Aneurysm-related mortality and late all-cause mortality was 7% vs 3% and 10% vs 7%, both P < .0001. CONCLUSION: Our study supports that EVAR might be considered when treating elderly patients, provided their aneurysms are anatomically suited for the endovascular technique. The risk for late complications compared with open repair may be outweighed by a lower early mortality as well as a shorter time for physical recovery.

[Nine years' experience with endovascular treatment of abdominal aortic aneurysms]. / Ni års erfaring med endovaskulaer behandling av abdominale aortaaneurismer.

BACKGROUND: Endovascular repair of abdominal aortic aneurysm was started nine years ago at our institution. Our purpose was to evaluate the results over this period. MATERIAL AND METHODS: From 1995 to 2003, a total of 148 patients were treated for infrarenal abdominal aortic aneurysms by endovascular repair. The material includes 31 patients (21%) who were unfit for open surgery because of comorbidity or poor general condition. The patients have been followed up at regular intervals with clinical investigation, plain abdominal X-ray, and CT scans. Regional anaesthesia was used for 143 procedures; 5 were carried out under general anaesthesia. RESULTS: 30-day mortality following elective procedures was 2.3%. 31 endo-leaks were observed, 16 early and 15 late. Furthermore, 22 graft limb occlusions were diagnosed and thirteen of them repaired with femoro-femoral bypass. Secondary procedures were necessary in 42 (28.4%) of the patients, including 7 late conversions to open surgery. Some patients had more than one secondary procedure. With better stent grafts, the incidence of complications and secondary procedures has decreased significantly. During the last 4.5 years, only 4 secondary procedures (5.8%) have been necessary in 69 patients. In the total material the accumulated five-year survival rate was about 60%. INTERPRETATION: Results from endovascular repair of abdominal aortic aneurysm have improved in recent years. Ongoing prospective randomised studies could give us the information we need in order to establish what role this treatment should have.

Combined open and endovascular treatment of complex aortic disease.

The purpose of this article is to report whether combined open and endovascular treatment could be applied in patients with complex aortic disease. A retrospective study including four patients with complex aortic disease was undertaken. In all patients, extra-anatomic bypass to the visceral arteries was made through a laparotomy while the aortic lesion was repaired by stent grafting. One patient died on the first postoperative day and another died 3 months after treatment from a myocardial infarction. The other two patients were alive 13 and 34 months after treatment, respectively. However, a patient treated for a ruptured thoracoabdominal type 2 aneurysm on the basis of a dissection suffers from postoperative paraplegia. The combination of open surgery with extra-anatomic bypass to visceral arteries and stent grafting could be an option for the treatment of patients with complex aortic disease, especially in high-risk cases in which more extensive open surgery is contraindicated.

Type III endoleak from a thoracic aortic stent-graft.

PURPOSE: To present an as yet unreported late complication of an Excluder thoracic endograft. CASE REPORT: A 78-year-old man underwent surgery for a ruptured type V thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysm in 1996. Four years later, an aneurysm was detected in the proximal thoracic aorta and repaired with 2 Excluder endoprostheses. At 12 months, computed tomography showed an increase in the aneurysm sac diameter and a type III endoleak, which was traced to a hole in the stent-graft fabric on arteriography. No fracture of the metal components was detected in the stent-grafts. Another Excluder device was implanted within the distal endograft. Satisfactory exclusion of the leak has been maintained for 6 months. CONCLUSIONS: The risk of type III leaks must be minimized before stent-grafting can be regarded as a routine procedure in the treatment of thoracic aortic aneurysms.