OBJECTIVES: This study was undertaken to determine the late survival of patients operated successfully for abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) repair, to compare survival data with that of the age- and sex-matched general population, to identify the causes of late death, and to determine the factors influencing late survival. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 187 consecutive patients underwent elective surgical AAA repair between January 1987 and December 1991. There were 11 postoperative deaths (early mortality rate 5.9%). The remaining 176 patients formed the basis of this cohort-based retrospective study. Six patients (3.4%) were lost to follow-up. Mean follow-up was 71 months. RESULTS: A total of 70 patients (39.8%) died during the study period. Coronary artery disease (CAD) and cancer were the two main causes. The survival rate at five years (71.6%) was lower than that of the sex- and age-matched general population (90.6%). Neither arterial hypertension nor CAD had any influence on late survival. In contrast, age and chronic renal failure were predictive variables of late survival. CONCLUSIONS: The life expectancy of patients who undergo successful AAA repair is not as good as that of the age- and sex-matched general population. Late survival depends on the patients' age at the time of surgery and the existence of preoperative chronic renal failure.
OBJECTIVES: This study was undertaken to determine the late survival of patients operated successfully for abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) repair, to compare survival data with that of the age- and sex-matched general population, to identify the causes of late death, and to determine the factors influencing late survival. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 187 consecutive patients underwent elective surgical AAA repair between January 1987 and December 1991. There were 11 postoperative deaths (early mortality rate 5.9%). The remaining 176 patients formed the basis of this cohort-based retrospective study. Six patients (3.4%) were lost to follow-up. Mean follow-up was 71 months. RESULTS: A total of 70 patients (39.8%) died during the study period. Coronary artery disease (CAD) and cancer were the two main causes. The survival rate at five years (71.6%) was lower than that of the sex- and age-matched general population (90.6%). Neither arterial hypertension nor CAD had any influence on late survival. In contrast, age and chronic renal failure were predictive variables of late survival. CONCLUSIONS: The life expectancy of patients who undergo successful AAA repair is not as good as that of the age- and sex-matched general population. Late survival depends on the patients' age at the time of surgery and the existence of preoperative chronic renal failure.
Authors: Philip P Goodney; Dale Tavris; F Lee Lucas; Thomas Gross; Elliott S Fisher; Samuel R G Finlayson Journal: J Vasc Surg Date: 2010-04-10 Impact factor: 4.268