Perioperative Complications are Associated With Adverse Long-Term Prognosis and Affect the Cause of Death After General Surgery.

BACKGROUND: It is unclear how mortality and causes of death vary between patients and surgical procedures and how occurrence of postoperative complications is associated with prognosis. This study describes long-term mortality rates and causes of death in a general surgical population. Furthermore, we explore the effect of postoperative complications on mortality. METHODS: A single-centre analysis of postoperative complications, with mortality as primary endpoint, was conducted in 4479 patients undergoing surgery. We applied univariate and multivariable regression models to analyse the effect of risk factors, including surgical risk and postoperative complications, on mortality. Causes of death were also explored. RESULTS: 75 patients (1.7 %) died within 30 days after surgery and 730 patients (16.3 %) died during a median follow-up of 6.3 years (IQR 5.8-6.8). Significant differences in long-term mortality were observed with worst outcome for patients undergoing high-risk vascular surgery (HR 1.5; 95 % CI 1.2-1.9). When looking at causes of death, high-risk surgery was associated with a twofold higher risk of cardiovascular death (HR 1.9; 95 % CI 1.2-3.1), whereas the intermediate-risk group had a higher risk of dying from cancer-related causes (HR 1.5; 95 % CI 1.1-2.0). Occurrence of complications-particularly of cardiovascular nature- was associated with worse survival (HR 1.9; 95 % CI 1.3-2.7). CONCLUSION: High-risk vascular surgery and occurrence of postoperative complications are important predictors of late mortality. Further focus on these groups of patients can contribute to reduced morbidity. Improvement in quality of care should be aimed at preventing postoperative complications and thus a better outcome in a general surgical population.

Mid-Term Results of EVAR in Severe Proximal Aneurysm Neck Angulation.

OBJECTIVE: To determine if mid-term outcome following endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR) with the Endurant Stent Graft (Medtronic, Santa Rosa, CA, USA) is influenced by severe proximal neck angulation. METHODS: A retrospective case-control study was performed using data from a prospective multicenter database. All measurements were obtained using dedicated reconstruction software and center-lumen line reconstruction. Patients with neck length >15 mm, infrarenal angle ß > 75°, and/or suprarenal angle α > 60°, or neck length >10 mm with ß > 60°, and/or α > 45° were compared with a matched control group. Primary endpoint was primary clinical success. Secondary endpoints were freedom from rupture, type 1A endoleak, stent fractures, freedom from neck-related reinterventions, and aneurysm-related adverse events. Morphological neck variation over time was also assessed. RESULTS: Forty-five patients were included in the study group and were compared with a matched control group with 65 patients. Median follow-up time was 49.5 months (range 30.5-58.4). The 4-year primary clinical success estimates were 83% and 80% for the angulated and nonangulated groups (p = .42). Proximal neck angulation did not affect primary clinical success in a multivariate model (hazard ratio 1.56, 95% confidence interval 0.55-4.41).Groups did not differ significantly in regard to freedom from rupture (p =.79), freedom from type 1A endoleak (p = .79), freedom from neck-related adverse events (p = .68), and neck-related reinterventions (p = .68). Neck angle reduction was more pronounced in patients with severe proximal neck angulation (mean deltaα -15.6°, mean deltaß -30.6°) than in the control group (mean deltaα -0.39°, mean deltaß -5.9°) (p < .001). CONCLUSION: Mid-term outcomes following EVAR with the Endurant Stent Graft were not influenced by severe proximal neck angulation in our population. Despite the conformability of the device, moderate aortic neck remodeling was identified in the group of patients with angulated neck anatomy on the first computed tomography scan after implantation with no important further remodeling afterwards. No device integrity failures were encountered.

Differences in mortality, risk factors, and complications after open and endovascular repair of ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysms.

OBJECTIVE/BACKGROUND: Endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR) for ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm (rAAA) has faced resistance owing to the marginal evidence of benefit over open surgical repair (OSR). This study aims to determine the impact of treatment modality on early mortality after rAAA, and to assess differences in postoperative complications and long-term survival. METHODS: Patients treated between January 2000 and June 2013 were identified. The primary endpoint was early mortality. Secondary endpoints were postoperative complications and long-term survival. Independent risk factors for early mortality were calculated using multivariate logistic regression. Survival estimates were obtained by means of Kaplan-Meier curves. RESULTS: Two hundred and twenty-one patients were treated (age 72 ± 8 years, 90% male), 83 (38%) by EVAR and 138 (62%) by OSR. There were no differences between groups at the time of admission. Early mortality was significantly lower for EVAR compared with OSR (odds ratio [OR]: 0.45, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.21-0.97). Similarly, EVAR was associated with a threefold risk reduction in major complications (OR: 0.33, 95%CI: 0.15-0.71). Hemoglobin level <11 mg/dL was predictive of early death for patients in both groups. Age greater than 75 years and the presence of shock were significant risk factors for early death after OSR, but not after EVAR. The early survival benefit of EVAR over OSR persisted for up to 3 years. CONCLUSION: This study shows an early mortality benefit after EVAR, which persists over the mid-term. It also suggests different prognostic significance for preoperative variables according to the type of repair. Age and the presence of shock were risk factors for early death after OSR, while hemoglobin level on admission was a risk factor for both groups. This information may contribute to repair-specific risk prediction and improved patient selection.

Treatment of post-implantation aneurysm growth by laparoscopic sac fenestration: long-term results.

OBJECTIVES: Sac growth after endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR) is an important finding, which may influence prognosis. In case of a type II endoleak or endotension, clipping of side branches and subsequent sac fenestration has been presented as a therapeutic alternative. The long-term clinical efficacy of this procedure is unknown. METHODS: The study included eight patients who underwent laparoscopic aortic collateral clipping and sac fenestration for enlarging aneurysms following EVAR. Secondary interventions and clinical outcome were retrieved from hospital records. Sac behaviour was evaluated measuring volumes on periodical computed tomography angiography (CTA) imaging using dedicated software. RESULTS: Follow-up had a median length of 6.6 (range 0.6-8.6) years. During this time, only three patients successfully achieved durable aneurysm shrinkage (n = 2) or stability (n = 1). The remaining patients suffered persistent (n = 2) or recurrent sac growth (n = 3), all regarded as failure of fenestration. A total of six additional interventions were performed, comprising open conversion (n = 2), relining (n = 1) and implantation of iliac extensions (n = 3). All additional interventions were successful at arresting further sac growth during the remainder of follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: Despite being a less invasive alternative to conversion and open repair, the long-term outcome of sac fenestration is unpredictable and additional major procedures were often necessary to arrest sac growth.