Infected thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysms including the major abdominal branches in 4 cases.

We present four cases of infected thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysm (TAAA), including abdominal branches that underwent surgical repair. The mean age of patients at the time of operation was 61+/-18 (range: 39-83) years. The extent of the aneurysm was Crawford type III in 1 case and type IV in the other 3. They all underwent an emergency or urgent operation, which consisted of a debridement of the infected tissue, in situ four-branched Dacron graft replacement, and iodine gauze packing for 48 h followed by omental wrapping of the graft. To prevent postoperative spinal ischemia, intercostal and lumbar arteries were reimplanted under motor-evoked potential (1.25 pairs per patient). There was one (25%) hospital death, but postoperative graft infection did not occur in these present cases during a mean follow-up period of 15+/-43 (1-96) months. Antibiotics were administered intravenously for 8 weeks after the operation, then continued orally for a lifelong period. Postoperatively, paraplegia occurred in one (25%) patient. Our strategy for infected TAAA including major abdominal branches may prevent postoperative graft infection.