Contemporary open repair of ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysms

Objective

Although endovascular repair of ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysms (rAAAs) is increasingly more prevalent and may yield better results, open repair of rAAAs is still commonly performed. Our goal was to assess the contemporary practice patterns and outcomes of open repair of rAAA.

Methods

The 2011-2014 American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program targeted open AAA database was queried for all rAAAs. Patient characteristics, presentation, aneurysm details, and operative details were analyzed to identify factors that may affect outcome in this population of patients.

Results

We identified 404 patients who underwent open repair of rAAA. The average age was 72 ± 9.4 years, and 76.2% were male. There were 230 (56.9%) patients who presented with hypotension. The operative approach was retroperitoneal in 16.3% of cases. The proximal extents of the aneurysms were infrarenal (52.5%), juxtarenal (24.3%), pararenal (4.2%), and suprarenal (8.2%). The distal extents were aortic (38.6%), common iliac artery (34.2%), and external or internal iliac artery (8.9%). Renal, visceral, and lower extremity revascularization was performed in 6.4%, 2.2%, and 7.9% of patients, respectively. Thirty-day mortality was 35.6%, and postoperative complications included cardiac (18.3%), pulmonary (42.3%), wound complications (6.7%), acute renal failure (17.3%), and ischemic colitis (9.4%). Postoperative length of stay was 13.1 ± 12.7 days, and 30-day readmission was 4.5%. Predictors of 30-day mortality were transperitoneal approach (odds ratio [OR], 3.3; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.38-7.89; P < .001), hypotension at presentation (OR, 2.03; 95% CI, 1.2-3.56; P = .007), and age (OR, 1.05; 95% CI, 1.02-1.09; P = .001). Transperitoneal approach also increased the risk of postoperative cardiac complications (OR, 3.25; 95% CI, 1.01-10.4; P = .047). Postoperative pulmonary complications were predicted by chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (OR, 2.06; 95% CI, 1.07-3.94; P = .03) and hypotension at presentation (OR, 1.77; 95% CI, 1.06-2.96; P = .03).

Conclusions

The majority of contemporary open rAAA repairs were performed for infrarenal aneurysms. Transperitoneal approach, hypotension, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease were associated with higher mortality and postoperative complications. Thirty-day mortality after rAAA was lower compared with historical data.