Elective endovascular and open repair of abdominal aortic aneurysms in octogenarians

ObjectivesEndovascular aortic aneurysm repair (EVAR) is an increasingly popular treatment option for patients with abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA), although open repair is considered the standard by virtue of its durability. Octogenarians, as a subgroup, may stand to benefit the most by EVAR. The purpose of this study is to review operative results and durability of open AAA repair and EVAR in octogenarians.MethodsFrom May 1996 to August 2006, 150 patients aged ≥80 years underwent elective repair of their infrarenal AAA. Eighty-one underwent EVAR and 69 had open repair. Demographic data, aneurysm specifics, comorbidities, operative morbidity and mortality, intensive care unit and hospital length of stay, and late outcomes were analyzed.ResultsIn the EVAR group, 27 of 81 (33%) patients died during a mean follow-up of 25 months. In the open repair group, 34 of 69 (49%) patients died during a mean follow-up of 43 months. The median survival time for EVAR was 350 weeks (range, 145-404 weeks) compared with 317 weeks (range, 233-342 weeks) for the open repair group. A Kaplan-Meier log-rank analysis showed no difference in early or long-term survival between EVAR and open repair (P = .13). EVAR was associated with decreased blood loss, decreased length of intensive care unit and hospital stays, and a greater number of patients discharged to home.ConclusionsEVAR and open repair are comparable in safety and efficacy in octogenarians. Operative repair outcomes remain acceptable. Mid- and long-term survival are similar, indicating no survival advantage of one procedure compared with the other

Recruitment of the mitotic exit network to yeast centrosomes couples septin displacement to actomyosin constriction

The Mitotic Exit Network (MEN) promotes mitotic exit and cytokinesis but if and how MEN independently controls these two processes is unclear. Here, the authors report that MEN displaces septins from the cell division site to promote actomyosin ring constriction, independently of MEN control of mitotic exit