Early and Intermediate Outcome of Emergency Endovascular Aneurysm Repair of Ruptured Infrarenal Aortic Aneurysm: A Single-Centre Experience of 90 Consecutive Patients

ObjectiveTo evaluate the early and intermediate outcome of a consecutive series of emergency endovascular aneurysm repairs (eEVAR) of computed tomography (CT)-verified infrarenal ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm (rAAA) at a single tertiary referral centre.MethodsProspectively collected data of patients operated between April 2000 and October 2007 were retrospectively reviewed and all their pre-, intra- and postoperative imaging were re-evaluated. Patient and procedural data were analysed using a Cox multiregression model.ResultsNinety patients (86% men, aged 76 (±7) years), were identified and included in the analysis. Symptom duration was <3 h in 22% of patients, 3–24 h in 39% and >24 h in 39%. Mean aneurysmal diameter was 73 (±14) mm. All patients were treated with the COOK Zenith® stent-graft (56% bi-iliac and 44% uni-iliac). Sixty-one percent were haemodynamically unstable on presentation, and 26% required an intra-operative aortic occlusion balloon to maintain haemodynamic stability.The 30-day and 1-year mortality rates were 27% and 37%, respectively. One-year aneurysm-related mortality was 33%. Twenty-eight percent of patients required re-interventions during the follow-up. The use of an aortic occlusion balloon and the presence of cerebrovascular disease or obstructive lung disorder correlated significantly with 30-day mortality in the multivariate analysis.ConclusionEVAR is a valid treatment option for rAAA when used as a first-line method for all patients.