Outcome in patients at high risk after open surgical repair of abdominal aortic aneurysm

Abstract

Objective: Outcomes after surgical repair of abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) in patients at high risk remain poorly defined. We investigated the short-term and long-term results of open repair of infrarenal AAA in a high-risk and comparison low-risk patient population. Methods: Conventional open surgical repair of nonruptured infrarenal AAA was performed in 572 consecutive patients from 1990 to 2000. Patients were considered at high risk if they had one or more of the following criteria: age 80 years or more, creatinine level 3.0 mg/dL or higher, severe pulmonary insufficiency, severe cardiac dysfunction, or hepatic failure. A retrospective review was carried out to determine relative risks, perioperative morbidity and mortality, and long-term survival. A P value of less than .05 was considered statistically significant. Results: One hundred twenty-eight of the study patients (22%) were at high risk and 444 were at low risk. Patients at high risk were older (77 versus 69 years; P