Endovascular infrarenal abdominal aortic aneurysm repair.

Abdominal aortic aneurysm repair has undergone a revolution since Volodos and Parodi described endoluminal repair in the early 1990s. Subsequent data from large registries have confirmed its efficacy. Randomised controlled trials have shown that although endoluminal repair may not be as cost effective as open repair, it can be performed with a lower mortality in patients fit for open repair. Some European countries (eg, Belgium) have taken the results of these trials to rationalise the number of hospitals able to do endovascular repair. The devices continue to improve and although most require open surgical access at present, in future percutaneous access will become the norm. This article reviews the current state of endoluminal aortic aneurysm repair in the infrarenal aorta.