ENDOVASCULAR REPAIR OF ABDOMINAL AORTIC-ANEURYSM - AN INITIAL EXPERIENCE

Endovascular repair of abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) was attempted i n ten patients over a 12-month period. Median age was 72 (range 61-82) years and median AAA diameter was 5.5 (range 5.2-6.0) cm. An aortoaor tic (tube) graft was used in seven patients and a tapered aortoiliac r econstruction in three. There were two failures requiring conversion t o open repair. Additional procedures included iliac artery angioplasty (two), coil embolization of an associated common iliac aneurysm (one) and femorodistal bypass (one). Median operating time was 162 (range 9 5-270) min and median blood loss was 1200 (range 800-2000) ml. Median hospital stay was 9 (range 5-21) days. Complications included death (o ne), reversible acute tubular necrosis (one) and prolonged ventilation (one). Postoperative evaluation with duplex ultrasonography and compu ted tomography demonstrated three perigraft leaks (two proximal and on e distal). It is concluded that endovascular repair of AAA is feasible but is associated with significant complications and requires careful evaluation before widespread use.