title: Surgical treatment of abdominal aortic aneurysm in the high-risk patient.
abstract: In an attempt to define the preoperative risk factors that predictably influence mortality after aneurysmectomy, this study reviews the surgical management of abdominal aortic aneurysms in a series of 110 consecutive patients who underwent elective resection. The preoperative risks to be added to the present study included pulmonary insufficiency, renal dysfunction, advanced age of over 80 years, ischemic heart disease, and associated other diseases such as thoracic aneurysms, atherosclerosis of the limbs and malignant tumors. Forty-six patients had one of these risk factors (one-risk group), 17 had two (two-risk group), and 9 had three (three-risk group). The operative mortality rates were 4.2 per cent for the high-risk patients and 0 per cent for the patients at no risk. As the number of risk factors increased, aneurysm repair was associated with an increased operative mortality; being 2.2 per cent in the one-risk group, 5.9 per cent in the two-risk group and 11.1 per cent in the three-risk group. The common risk factor in patients who died after aneurysmectomy was pulmonary insufficiency which induced prolonged periods of assisted ventilation. Thus, the optimal management of high-risk patients, particularly those with pulmonary insufficiency, may reduce the mortality after aneurysmectomy.
authors.affiliation: Second Department of Surgery, Kagoshima University School of Medicine, Japan.
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Morishita
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Toyohira
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yuda
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yamashita
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Shimokawa
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Saigenji
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hashiguchi
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kawashima
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Moriyama
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Taira
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001012:Aorta, Abdominal; D001014:Aortic Aneurysm / Q000401:mortality / Q000601:surgery*; D003327:Coronary Disease / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007674:Kidney Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009102:Multiple Organ Failure / Q000401:mortality; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000401:mortality; D012131:Respiratory Insufficiency / Q000453:epidemiology; D012307:Risk Factors