OBJECTIVETo evaluate the initial and long-term results of endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR) in high-surgical-risk abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) patients.

METHODSFrom July 1997 to July 2011, 120 consecutive high-surgical-risk patients with AAA who were treated electively using a bifurcated aortic endograft were entered in a registry. There were 96 male and 24 female patients, aged from 52 to 95 years with a mean of 74 years. Follow-up protocol consisted of computed tomography angiograms or ultrasound performed at 3, 6, 9, 12 months, and annually thereafter. The main goal was evaluation of the operative mortality and the long-term survival of these patients. Secondary goals were determination of the frequency of secondary operations, the outcome of the aneurysm sac, and primary and secondary patency rates after aortic endograft placement.

RESULTSMean aneurysm diameter was (57 ± 8) mm. Thirty-seven patients were operated under local anesthesia and eighty-three under general anesthesia. Five type I endoleaks, twenty-five type II endoleaks and one type III endoleak occurred during the perioperative period. The technical success rate was 95%. Operative mortality was 2.5%. The survival rates at 1-, 3- and 5-year were 92%, 75% and 43% respectively. The mean follow up was (36 ± 3) months. Primary and secondary patency rates at 3 year were respectively 97% and 100%. Secondary intervention rate was 10% (12/120) at 5 year. The reasons included endoleaks for 7 patients, stent-grafts fracture for 2 patients, stent-grafts migration for 2 patients and stent-graft thrombosis for 1 patients.

CONCLUSIONSInitial and long-term results with endograft repair of AAA in high-surgical-risk patients were satisfactory. These results appear to justify endovascular repair for this patient population.