Ten-year results following elective surgery for abdominal aortic aneurysm.
OBJECTIVE
10-year results after elective operation for infrarenal aortic aneurysm considering the influence of risk factors.


METHODS
Retrospective study with 5-12 year postoperative follow-up.


METHODS
University hospital (Klinikum Grosshadern, Munich).


METHODS
The long-term follow-up was based on 521 (95.6%) out of 545 consecutive patients operated upon electively for abdominal aortic aneurysm between 1978 and 1987.


METHODS
The infrarenal aneurysms were excluded by aortic tube grafts (314 patients, 59%) or bifurcation grafts (231 patients, 41%).


METHODS
The birthday, operation day and eventually the day of death in the hospital were documented in the charts. The patient's state or cause of death were elicited on the phone 5 to 12 years after the operation. Kaplan-Meier survival curves were calculated based on these data and compared to age-matched normal male populations.


RESULTS
Hospital mortality was 6.4%. The cumulative rate of survival following elective surgery was 65% at 5 years and 41% at 10 years, the mean survival time being 95.1 months. Age, coronary artery disease and hypertension had a significant influence on the cumulative survival. Patients with aorto-coronary bypass had a better long-term outcome than those without bypass surgery.


CONCLUSIONS
The excellent long-term results within a high-risk population support elective surgery of infrarenal aortic aneurysms. Results of new interventional techniques will have to be compared with this "golden standard" follow-up.
Cappeller
W A
WA
Department of Surgery and Institute for Medical Informatik, Klinikum Grosshadern, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Germany.
Hölzel
D
D
Hinz
M H
MH
Lauterjung
L
L
D000368:Aged; D017544:Aortic Aneurysm, Abdominal / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000601:surgery*; D019917:Blood Vessel Prosthesis Implantation / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D003327:Coronary Disease / Q000453:epidemiology; D017558:Elective Surgical Procedures; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D017052:Hospital Mortality; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D016019:Survival Analysis; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome