Abdominal aortic aneurysms: should they all be resected?

A retrospective study has been carried out on 124 consecutive patients with abdominal aortic aneurysms admitted during the period 1960-74. The mortality rate after emergency operation was 56 per cent and after elective operation 15 per cent. As in other vascular centres during these years the mortality rate has decreased among electively operated patients. We have tried to answer two questions: which patients without signs of rupture should undergo operation and which patients with a ruptured aneurysm should not be operated upon?