title: Repair of abdominal aortic aneurysms: the benefits of offering both endovascular and open surgical techniques.
abstract: Two treatment options are available for abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAAs): open surgical technique with graft replacement and endovascular aortic aneurysm repair (EVAR) as a minimally invasive procedure. The intention of this review is to highlight the advantages of both procedures and to demonstrate that offering both procedures is beneficial for the patient when he or she makes the important decision regarding which treatment to select. A comparative evaluation of both treatment options is offered as well as a short description of the risk of rupture and its consequences. The authors discuss the latest literature as well as their own experiences. An innovative statistical approach-the propensity score-based Cox model-is presented to evaluate the 2 treatment options. The benefits of offering both EVAR and open surgery permit optimal management of AAA for the individual patient and tailor the treatment to his or her organ dysfunctions and impaired physical status. In addition, EVAR offers a treatment option for otherwise incurable high-risk patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Vascular Surgery, Medical University of Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: Harald
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Teufelsbauer
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Polterauer
authors.forename: Johannes
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lammer
authors.forename: Ihor
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Huk
authors.forename: Josif
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Nanobachvili
authors.forename: Georg
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Kretschmer
mesh_terms: D017544:Aortic Aneurysm, Abdominal / Q000601:surgery*; D001807:Blood Vessel Prosthesis; D006801:Humans; D019060:Minimally Invasive Surgical Procedures