Tracheostomy After Thoracoabdominal Aortic Aneurysm Repair: Risk Factors and Outcomes.

BACKGROUND: Respiratory failure, the most frequent complication after thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysm (TAAA) repair, necessitates tracheostomy in severe cases. We examined risk factors for and outcomes of tracheostomy after TAAA repair. METHODS: We reviewed the records of 1267 consecutive patients who underwent TAAA repair. Patients with a preexisting tracheostomy were excluded. Extensive repairs (Crawford extent I or II) were performed in 716 patients (56.6%). Stepwise logistic regression analysis was used to identify risk factors for postrepair tracheostomy. RESULTS: Tracheostomy was necessary in 140 patients (11.1%). Operative mortality was significantly higher in patients with tracheostomy (27.9%) than in those without (5.8%; p < 0.001). As expected, tracheostomy patients had longer intensive care unit stays (24 vs 4 days, p < 0.001) and hospital stays (57 vs 10 days, p < 0.001) than nontracheostomy patients. Patients with tracheostomy were frequently transferred for additional long-term acute care or hospitalization (107, 76.4%), and many died after transfer (24/107, 22.4%). Kaplan-Meier curves showed markedly poorer late survival in patients with tracheostomy than in those without (47.9% ± 4.3% vs 87.3% ± 1.0% at 1 year; 27.8% ± 4.8% vs 68.6% ± 1.6% at 5 years). Independent predictors of post-TAAA repair tracheostomy included acute aortic dissection, chronic renal insufficiency, underweight body mass index, hypertension, history of stroke, extent II repair, diabetes, age at least 70 years, and greater platelet transfusion volume. CONCLUSIONS: Patients who undergo tracheostomy after TAAA repair have a high risk of early and late mortality as well as prolonged hospitalization. Strategies for improving survival outcomes in tracheostomy patients warrant investigation.

Contemporary outcomes of open thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysm repair in octogenarians.

OBJECTIVES: We sought to evaluate our contemporary outcomes with open thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysm (TAAA) repair in octogenarians to determine whether open TAAA repair is a viable option, with acceptable risk, in this elderly cohort. METHODS: We analyzed clinical data from 1267 enrolled patients who underwent open TAAA repair between 2003 and 2013. Eighty-eight patients (7%) were octogenarians (median age, 82 years; range, 80-92 years) and 1179 were 79 years of age or less. RESULTS: Aneurysm rupture was more common in octogenarians (14% vs 4.7%, P = .001), whereas aortic dissections predominated in younger patients (43.9% vs 13%, P < .001). Octogenarians had higher rates of visceral-branch endarterectomy/stenting (58% vs 33.5%, P < .001), adverse postoperative outcomes (36% vs 15.3%, P < .001), operative mortality (26% vs 6.9%, P < .001), and prolonged hospital stay (P = .004). Among octogenarians, preoperative aortic dissection was most commonly associated with extent I repair (42% vs <10% for other extents, P < .001). Extent II repairs most frequently necessitated concomitant visceral-branch procedures and carried the highest risk of mortality (62%). Extent I and III repairs carried intermediate operative risk, and extent IV repairs posed the least risk (11%). Multivariate modeling analysis identified extent II TAAA (P = .001; odds ratio, 11.6), presence of concomitant dissection (P = .02; odds ratio, 5.6), and aneurysm rupture (P = .02; odds ratio, 5.7) as independent predictors of operative mortality in octogenarians. CONCLUSIONS: Open extent II TAAA repair carries significant risk for octogenarians; extent I, III, and IV repairs incur more reasonable postoperative risk. Although TAAA repair should not be denied to octogenarians based solely on age, extensive TAAA repair should be performed with caution.