Sex-related outcomes after open type IV thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysm repair.

OBJECTIVE: Although outcomes after infrarenal abdominal aortic aneurysm surgery are worse in women, sex-specific differences in outcomes after open type IV thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysm (TAAA) surgery are undefined. The goal of this study was to define sex-based disparities in short- and long-term outcomes after open type IV TAAA surgery. METHODS: All open type IV TAAA repairs performed during 27 years were evaluated using a single institutional database. Charts were retrospectively evaluated for major adverse events (in-hospital death, other major in-hospital complication) and long-term complications (graft- and aortic-related events and death). Univariate analyses were performed using the Fisher's exact test for categorical variables and Wilcoxon rank-sum testing for continuous variables. Logistic multivariable regression was used for the in-hospital end points death and major complication, and survival analyses were performed with Cox proportional hazards modeling and Kaplan-Meier techniques. RESULTS: During the 27-year study period, 234 patients had an open type IV TAAA repair; 85 were female and 149 were male. There were 26 (17.5%) men and 16 (18.8%) women who suffered a major in-hospital complication/death. There were eight (3.4%) in-hospital deaths, all occurring in men. Unadjusted survival at 5 years was 67.9% for women and 58.4% for men. Multivariable analyses revealed no sex-based difference in combined major in-hospital events and death (female: odds ratio [OR], 1.8; confidence interval [CI], 0.83-4.0; P = .13) or any complication (OR, 1.0; CI, 0.55-1.8; P = .99). However, women were less likely than men to be discharged to home (OR, 0.28; CI, 0.13-0.60; P = .001) and had decreased survival compared with men after discharge (hazard ratio, 2.1; CI, 1.2-3.5; P = .008). CONCLUSIONS: No sex-based differences were found for the in-hospital outcomes of death or major complication after open type IV TAAA repair. However, women are less likely than men to be discharged home. Among those who survive the index operation, female sex portends decreased survival following discharge after repair.