24 Jul Comparison of Surgical Techniques For Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Repair
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Dr. Marc Schermerhorn, MD
Chief of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical
Medical Research: What is the background for this study?
Dr. Schermerhorn: Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm is common, about 4% of men over 60 and 1% of women will have AAA, higher in smokers and those with family members with AAA.
Medical Research: What are the main findings?
Dr. Schermerhorn: Endovascular repair has substantially lower operative mortality and complications and patients leave the hospital earlier and are more likely to go home rather than rehab or a nursing home.
The early survival advantage with endovascular repair fades over time and late survival is similar. After endovascular repair more re-interventions to maintain the Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm repair are needed while after open repair there are more complications related to the abdominal incision.
Importantly, late Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm rupture is more common after endovascular repair. This highlights the need for more research to prevent late rupture and highlights the need for patients to continue to undergo routine surveillance to detect problems that can potentially be fixed with a minimally invasive treatment.
Finally, endovascular results are improving over time.
Citation:
N Engl J Med 2015; 373:328-338
July 23, 2015
DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa1405778
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Dr. Marc Schermerhorn, MD (2015). Comparison of Surgical Techniques For Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Repair
Last Updated on July 24, 2015 by Marie Benz MD FAAD