TUESDAY, June 17 (HealthDay News)-- Having two options for
repair of ruptured abdominal aneurysms has led to improved
post-surgery survival for patients, says a study by researchers at
the Medical University of Vienna in Austria.
Ruptured abdominal aneurysms occur when the aorta -- the large
blood vessel that supplies blood to the pelvis, legs and abdomen --
enlarges and bursts. In most cases, people don't survive long
enough to reach a hospital.
Most patients who do make it to a hospital undergo a procedure
called open graft replacement. In this surgery, done through an
open incision, the damaged segment of the aorta is replaced with a
synthetic graft. Post-surgery death rates are 40 percent to 50
percent and haven't changed over the past four decades, according
to background information in the study.
A minimally invasive procedure called endovascular abdominal
aortic aneurysm repair was introduced in 1994. A mesh stent is
inserted through the artery and positioned within the aorta.
In this study, the researchers compared patients who had open
graft replacement and 16 who had endovascular abdominal aortic
aneurysm repair, which was introduced at the Medical University of
Vienna in 2003.
Following the introduction of the endovascular procedure, the
overall patient death rate in the 90 days after surgery decreased
from 54.8 percent to 27.7 percent. Improved survival was most
apparent in patients older than 75.5 years.
Interestingly, the death rate for patients who had open graft
replacement declined from 54.8 percent to 29 percent after the
introduction of the endovascular procedure.
"Our findings strongly indicate that the implementation of
endovascular abdominal aortic aneurysm repair is able to reduce the
overall mortality in patients with ruptured abdominal aortic
aneurysm," the study authors wrote.
"By offering both treatment options, it was possible to improve
the immediate and mid-term overall results by shifting high-risk
patients from the open graft reduction to the endovascular
abdominal aortic aneurysm repair group, thereby improving the
results of open surgery."
The study was published in the June issue of the journal
Archives of Surgery.
More information
The American Academy of Family Physicians has more about
abdominal aortic aneurysm.
