Open repair of abdominal aortic aneurysm in a centenarian.

We present the case of a 101-year-old female who was successfully operated for an open elective repair of a symptomatic 9 cm abdominal aortic aneurysm. This is the oldest case reported in the literature for elective open abdominal aortic aneurysm repair with successful outcome. This case raises an important ethical issue of human life expectancy and the appropriateness of high-risk surgery on a centenarian.