Surgical management of abdominal aortic aneurysm in the high-risk patient.

Surgical therapy of aortic abdominal aneurysms has progressed in recent years to the point where the presence of an aortic aneurysm greater than 4 cm is an indication for surgical repair. The high-risk patients require careful preoperative evaluation and intensive postoperative supervision if significant morbidity and mortality are to be kept to less than 6 to 7 per cent.