Immediate Open Repair vs Surveillance in Patients with Small Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms: Survival Differences by Aneurysm Size

Immediate open repair offered no significant survival benefit, even in patients with the largest AAAs and highest risk of rupture. Because recent trials failed to find a survival benefit of immediate endovascular repair over surveillance for small asymptomatic AAAs, our findings suggest that the gray area of first-line management for these patients should be resolved in favor of surveillance.