Surgical Treatment of Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms-Selection of Patients and Operative Results

The outcome of 124 patients with operated and unoperated abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA) were reviewed.Of the 124 patients admitted to the department (from 1973 to 1988), 108 were treated surgically, and 16 were not operated on because of concurrent medical disorders or refusal.Of the 108 patients who underwent operation, 87 were treated electively, and 21 were done as emergency cases.The 5 year life table survival of all of operated patients was 68%, 70% for elective cases and 56% for emergency cases. There were no significant differences among these three figures. On the other hand, all of non operated patients died within 4 years.The three major causes of death in the late phase in the operated group were myocardial infarction, stroke and malignancy, but the major cause in the non operated group was rupture of the AAA.Therefore, unless general condition contraindicates surgery, all patients, AAA without respect to age, should be considered for elective aneurysmal resection before rupture.