title: Mid-term follow-up of patients with permanent sequel due to spinal cord ischemia after advanced endovascular therapy for extensive aortic disease.
abstract: METHODS
  Observational study.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  Thoraco-abdominal endovascular aortic aneurysm repair (TAEVAR) can be used to treat patients with extensive and complex aortic disease, however, at the risk of spinal cord ischemia (SCI). The aim of this follow-up study was to evaluate the life satisfaction in patients with SCI after TAEVAR.
  
  
  METHODS
  Among 83 patients undergoing TAEVAR between 2009 and 2012 at the Vascular Centre, Malmö, Sweden, 29 developed SCI in-hospital and at follow-up (median 26 months), eight had died and three had no complaints.
  
  
  METHODS
  Patients diagnosed with permanent (n=10) and transient (n=8) SCI were interviewed at home. The Life Satisfaction Questionnaire (LiSat-11) and the Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS) were compared with reference samples.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Mid-term mortality in patients with permanent SCI (7/17) was higher than those with transient SCI (1/12) (P=0.035). Ten patients had permanent T1-S5 SCI, two were classified as ASIA Impairment Scale (AIS) A, one as AIS B and seven as AIS D at hospital discharge. Patients diagnosed with transient SCI had residual neurological deficits in the legs (n=8), urge incontinence (n=3) and fecal leakage (n=2) at follow-up. Patients with SCI had lower self-rated life satisfaction in terms of 'life as a whole', 'sexual life', 'somatic health' and 'psychological health' but better in the 'economy' domain.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Assessment of life satisfaction at mid-term follow-up suggests that all patients with SCI in-hospital, whether permanent or transient, should have a multi-disciplinary follow-up regime. Most patients diagnosed with transient neurological deficits had an overlooked permanent, less severe, SCI.
authors.affiliation: Vascular Center, Institution for Clinical Sciences, Skåne University Hospital, Malmö, Sweden.
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Mehmedagic
authors.affiliation: Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Skåne University Hospital, Malmö, Sweden.|Department of Health Sciences, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Jörgensen
authors.affiliation: Vascular Center, Institution for Clinical Sciences, Skåne University Hospital, Malmö, Sweden.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Acosta