title: Minilaparotomy abdominal aortic aneurysm repair in the era of minimally invasive vascular surgery: preliminary results.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  This study aimed to evaluate the early post-operative clinical impact of minimal incision aortic surgery (MIAS) for infrarenal abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) repair in comparison with the standard open repair.
  
  
  METHODS
  A case-control study was conducted. Patients of groups A (19 patients) and B (18 patients) were treated with the MIAS technique and the standard open method, respectively.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There were significant differences between the two groups in fluid resuscitation during the operation. Post-operatively, there were significant differences between groups A and B in the time until starting liquid diet (2 +/- 0.74 versus 3.55 +/- 0.85 post-operative days (PD), respectively; P < 0.05), the time until starting the solid diet (3.05 +/- 0.77 versus 5.11 +/- 0.75 PD, respectively; P < 0.05), the time of ambulation (2 +/- 0.74 versus 3.4 +/- 0.98 PD, respectively; P < 0.05) and in the hospital length of stay (4 +/- 0.81 versus 9.7 +/- 2.66 days, respectively; P < 0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The MIAS technique, for repair of infrarenal aortic aneurysms, is a safe and feasible procedure that combines the early advantages of endovascular repair with the long-term advantages of the traditional open repair.
authors.affiliation: First Department of Surgery, Vascular Department, University of Athens Medical School, 'Laiko' General Hospital, Athens, Greece. bakogian@hotmail.com
authors.forename: Chris N
authors.initials: CN
authors.lastname: Bakoyiannis
authors.forename: Nikolaos S
authors.initials: NS
authors.lastname: Tsekouras
authors.forename: Sotiris E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Georgopoulos
authors.forename: Ioanna C
authors.initials: IC
authors.lastname: Skrapari
authors.forename: Konstantinos P
authors.initials: KP
authors.lastname: Economopoulos
authors.forename: Christos
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Tsigris
authors.forename: Elias A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Bastounis
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D017544:Aortic Aneurysm, Abdominal / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000601:surgery*; D019917:Blood Vessel Prosthesis Implantation / Q000379:methods*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007813:Laparotomy; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D019060:Minimally Invasive Surgical Procedures; D012307:Risk Factors