Outcome and quality of life after endovascular abdominal aortic aneurysm repair in octogenarians

ObjectiveThis study determined outcome and quality of life (QOL) in octogenarians, compared with patients aged <80 years, 1 year after endovascular aortic aneurysm repair (EVAR).MethodsFrom March 2009 until April 2011, 1263 patients in the Endurant Stent Graft Natural Selection Global Postmarket Registry (ENGAGE) registry with an abdominal aortic aneurysm were treated with EVAR using the Endurant endograft (Medtronic Cardiovascular, Santa Rosa, Calif). The patients were grouped according to those aged ≥80 years (290 [22.9%]) and those aged <80 years (973 [77.1%]) at the time of the procedure. QOL was assessed using composite EuroQoL 5-Dimensions Questionnaire (EQ-5D) index scores. Baseline, perioperative, and follow-up data were analyzed at 1 year.ResultsOctogenarians had poorer anatomic characteristics. The technical success rate was almost 99% for both cohorts, with no deaths. The duration of the implant procedure was significantly longer in the elderly patients (P = .002), with significant differences in overall (P < .001) and postprocedure (P < .001) hospital stays in favor of the younger group. At 1 year, there was a significant difference in all-cause mortality (P = .002) and in the number of major adverse events (P = .003), including secondary rupture (P = .01), to the detriment of octogenarians. There were no significant differences in conversion to open surgery or in overall secondary endovascular procedures. The octogenarians scored lower in their overall health care perception (P < .001) but with no significant difference in the EQ-5D index. Compared with the group aged <80 years, they had still not completely recovered their QOL after 1 year (P = .01).ConclusionsOctogenarians are more difficult to treat by EVAR than younger patients due to poorer anatomic suitability and a higher incidence of complications. Recovery of QOL in octogenarians takes longer (>12 months) than expected

Thirty-day outcome and quality of life after endovascular abdominal aortic aneurysm repair in octogenarians based on the Endurant Stent Graft Natural Selection Global Postmarket Registry (ENGAGE)

Objectives: To determine 30-day outcome and quality of life after elective endovascular abdominal aortic aneurysm repair in octogenarians. Methods: From March 2009 to May 2011, 1200 patients with abdominal aortic aneurysms were treated with endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR) using the Endurant stent graft were included in the Endurant Stent Graft Natural Selection Global Postmarket Registry (ENGAGE) registry. Among these, 926 (77%) were aged = 80 years. Quality of life was assessed using composite EuroQoL 5-Dimensions Questionnaire index scores. Results: Gender was unequally distributed, with more female patients among the octogenarians (P = .043). Octogenarians had a significantly higher American Society of Anesthesiologists classification (P <.001) and differed significantly in baseline risk factors. The younger cohort was more likely to smoke (P <.001) and be alcoholics (P = .005). Octogenarians had larger aortic aneurysm (P = .010) and left iliac artery diameters (P = .017) and greater infrarenal neck angulation (P = .01). The technical success rate was > 99% for both cohorts. Octogenarians were more often operated on under general anesthesia (P = .028), had a longer procedure duration (P <.001), and an increased length of hospitalization; both total (P <.001) and postprocedure (P <.001). All-cause mortality and major adverse event rates were similar in the two groups (P = .835 and P = .186, respectively). There was no difference in the number of secondary endovascular procedures or aneurysm rupture at 30 days. At discharge, both groups had reduced health status dimensions, except anxiety/depression, when compared with baseline. At 30 days, the octogenarian group had a lower composite EuroQoL 5-Dimensions Questionnaire index compared with the younger group indicating a slower recovery (0.83 +/- 0.20 vs 0.87 +/- 0.16; P = .003). Conclusions: Octogenarians can be safely treated using the Endurant stent graft with a high technical rate of success, low perioperative mortality, and no reduction in quality of life. Octogenarians did, however, appear to recover more slowly than younger patients with respect to certain quality of life components. Long-term data are needed to confirm these results. (J Vasc Surg 2012;

External-to-Internal Iliac Artery Endografting for the Exclusion of Iliac Artery Aneurysms: An Alternative Technique for Preservation of Pelvic Flow?

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to describe an alternative endovascular procedure to exclude iliac artery aneurysms, preserving perfusion to the internal iliac artery. Cases: Two patients, considered unfit for open repair, underwent endovascular repair of iliac artery aneurysms. One of these occurred after previous placement of a bifurcated prosthesis. In both cases the aneurysms were excluded using a nitinol stent covered with expanded polytetrafluoroethylene from the external to the internal iliac artery. Using this technique, the internal iliac arteries were perfused in a retrograde manner. Both interventions were technically successful. The external-to-internal endograft remained patent after 6 and 16 months, respectively. Conclusion: Endovascular placement of a stent-graft from the external iliac artery into the internal iliac artery may offer an alternative and minimal invasive alternative for the management of common and internal iliac artery aneurysms. With the use of this technique, pelvic perfusion is preserved. Further studies are warranted to appraise the advantages and risk of this approach for iliac artery aneurysms. (C) 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc

Predictors of Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Shrinkage after Endovascular Repair

Recent studies demonstrate that patients with a shrinking abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA), one-year after endovascular repair (EVAR), have better long-term outcomes than patients with a stable AAA. It is not known what factors determine whether an AAA will shrink or not. In this study, a range of parameters was investigated to identify their use in differentiating patients that will develop a shrinking AAA from those with a stable AAA one-year after EVAR. Hundred-seventy-four patients (67 shrinking AAA, 107 stable AAA) who underwent elective, infrarenal EVAR were enrolled between 2011–2018. Long-term survival was significantly better in patients with a shrinking AAA, compared to those with a stable AAA (p = 0.038). Larger preoperative maximum AAA diameter was associated with an increased likelihood of developing AAA shrinkage one-year after EVAR—whereas older age and larger preoperative infrarenal β angle were associated with a reduced likelihood of AAA shrinkage. However, this multivariate logistic regression model was only able to correctly identify 66.7% of patients with AAA shrinkage from the total cohort. This is not sufficient for implementation in clinical care, and therefore future research is recommended to dive deeper into AAA anatomy, and explore potential predictors using artificial intelligence and radiomic

Endovascular Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Repair in Nonagenarians-Beyond Limits?

Herein, we report a single institution's experience with endovascular abdominal aortic aneurysm repair in nonagenarians, over a 4-year period of time. We performed a retrospective study of cases, in which we documented patient demographics, symptoms, physical findings, surgical interventions, complications, and deaths. The survivors answered a questionnaire. Endovascular abdominal aneurysm repair was performed in 4 male nonagenarians (age range, 90–92 yr): 2 underwent repair of asymptomatic aneurysm and 2 underwent repair of symptomatic aneurysm. There was no in-hospital death, and patients were discharged after a median time of 11 days. Both patients with symptomatic abdominal aortic aneurysm died within 30 days, 1 of an occluded left femoral artery and the other of unknown cause. After follow-ups of 6 and 54 months, both survivors were in good physical condition and patient satisfaction appeared to be very high. We have shown that elective endovascular abdominal aneurysm repair in a small, selected group of nonagenarians was feasible and afforded acceptable short-term survival. In patients with symptomatic disease, however, the early postprocedural mortality rate appears to be high. Decision-making should focus chiefly on comorbidities, on subjective issues such as fear of rupture, and on ethical and financial considerations

One-Year Outcomes of Endovascular Aneurysm Repair in High-Risk Patients Using the Endurant Stent-Graft:Comparison of the ASA Classification and SVS/AAVS Medical Comorbidity Grading System for the Prediction of Mortality and Adverse Events

Purpose: To evaluate the outcome and survival of patients with extensive comorbid conditions after endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR) and objectify which of 2 medical comorbidity classifications is more accurate in predicting adverse outcomes. Methods: All 1263 patients (mean age 73.1 years; 1129 men) treated using the Endurant Stent Graft system and entered in the prospective global postmarketing ENGAGE registry (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier NCT00870051) were grouped using the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) classification and the Society for Vascular Surgery/American Association for Vascular Surgery (SVS/AAVS) medical comorbidity grading system. Patients assigned to ASA III and IV and SVS/AAVS 2 and 3 categories were considered high risk. Primary outcome was 1-year all-cause mortality. Secondary outcomes included technical and clinical success, major adverse events (MAE), aneurysm rupture, endoleaks, and secondary endovascular procedures. One-year follow-up of the entire ENGAGE cohort was the endpoint of the study. Results: A total of 1263 patients were included. The overall technical success rate was high, the lowest being 97.4% in the ASA I group. The overall 30-day and 1-year Kaplan-Meier survival estimates were 98.7% and 92.5%, respectively. All cause 1-year mortality was higher in the ASA III and IV groups, but this did not reach statistical significance (5.2% and 5.7% for ASA I and II vs 9.0% and 9.9% for ASA III and IV, p=0.12). In the SVS/AAVS groups, 1-year all-cause mortality significantly increased with the SVS/AAVS score to 11.3% in the SVS/AAVS 3 group (p=0.002). There were significantly more MAEs in the SVS/AAVS 3 group at 1 year (

Experience with the GORE EXCLUDER iliac branch endoprosthesis for common iliac artery aneurysms

Objective: In this study, we analyzed the procedural success and early outcome of endovascular treatment of a multicenter cohort of patients with common iliac artery (CIA) aneurysms treated with the new GORE EXCLUDER (W. L. Gore & Associates, Flagstaff, Ariz) iliac branch endoprosthesis (IBE). Methods: A retrospective cohort analysis was performed in 13 sites in The Netherlands. Anatomic, demographic, procedural, and follow-up data were assessed from hospital records. Results: From November 2013 to December 2014, 51 CIA aneurysms were treated with an IBE in 46 patients. The median diameter of the treated aneurysm was 40.5 (range, 25.0-90.0) mm. The mean procedural time was 198 +/- 56 minutes. All but one implantation were successful; two type Ib endoleaks were noticed, resulting in a procedural success rate of 93.5%. The two type Ib endoleaks spontaneously disappeared at 30 days. There was no 30-day mortality. Ipsilateral buttock claudication was present in only two cases at 30 days and disappeared during follow-up. The incidence of reported erectile dysfunction was low and severe ischemic complications were absent. After a mean follow-up of 6 months, data on 17 treated aneurysms were available. Two showed a stable diameter, whereas 15 showed a mean decrease of 3.9 +/- 2.2 mm (P <.001). Reinterventions were performed in two patients (7.1%). The 6-month primary patency of the internal component of the IBE device was 94%. Conclusions: The use of the GORE EXCLUDER IBE device for CIA aneurysms is related to high procedural success, high patency rates, and low reintervention rates at short-term follow-up. Prospective data with longer follow-up are awaited to establish the role of the device in the treatment algorithm of CIA aneurysms

The relevance of aortic endograft prosthetic infection

BackgroundVascular prosthetic graft infection is a severe complication after open aortic aneurysm repair. Reports of infected endografts are scarce. General treatment consensus with infected graft material is that it should be removed completely. The objective of this study was to describe the incidence of endograft infection after endovascular repair of abdominal (EVAR) and thoracic aortic aneurysm (TEVAR) and to report treatment options and their outcome.MethodsA retrospective cohort study was performed of patients endovascularly operated for abdominal and thoracic aortic aneurysm in two large hospitals (one tertiary referral center and one large community hospital) between March 1996 and June 2009. Diagnosis of infected endograft was made based on clinical findings, blood tests and cultures, imaging studies (computed tomography, fludeoxyglucose positron emission tomography), and intraoperative findings at reoperation.ResultsEleven patients with an infected endograft were identified in 1431 endovascular procedures. One other patient was referred from another hospital. Patients were aged 68 ± 9 years, and all but one were male. The median time from initial TEVAR/EVAR to the diagnosis of infection was 115 days (range, 7-3748 days), with 42% of patients presenting within 3 months after TEVAR/EVAR. Seven patients were diagnosed with endograft infection after elective TEVAR/EVAR and five after emergency TEVAR/EVAR. The incidence was significantly higher in patients that were treated in an emergency setting (0.56% vs 2.79%; P = .002), while there was no significant difference between TEVAR and EVAR procedures (1.37% vs 0.77%). All patients were initially treated with antibiotic therapy, which was complemented with surgical intervention in six patients. In four patients, the infected graft material was completely explanted. Isolated microorganisms included Staphylococcus species (n = 4), Streptococcus species (n = 4), Enterobacter cloacae (n = 1), Escherichia coli (n = 1), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (n = 1), and Listeria monocytogenes (n = 1). Median time of follow-up was 201 days (range, 6-2023 days). During the study period, three out of 12 patients died, of which two were treated conservatively (P = ns). At their last follow-up visit, seven of nine patients still used antimicrobial therapy.ConclusionsThe incidence of endograft infection is below 1%, with a mortality rate of 25%. Although consensus is that infected graft material should always be removed, this study shows no significant difference in mortality between the conservatively- and the surgically-managed group, possibly related to the small sample size. There may be a role for conservative treatment in selected cases of patients with an infected endograft

Long-Term Outcome of the GORE EXCLUDER AAA Endoprosthesis for Treatment of Infrarenal Aortic Aneurysms

Purpose: To evaluate long-term outcome of GORE EXCLUDER AAA Endoprosthesis (W.L. Gore & Associates, Inc, Flagstaff, Arizona) for elective treatment of infrarenal aortic aneurysms and to evaluate performance of different generations of the device. Materials and Methods: A retrospective analysis was performed of 248 patients undergoing elective endovascular aneurysm repair with the GORE EXCLUDER between January 2000 and December 2015 in 2 hospitals. Primary endpoint was reintervention-free survival. Secondary endpoints were technical success, overall survival, rupture-free survival, endoleaks, sac diameter change (> 5 mm), limb occlusion, and migration (> 5 mm). Median follow-up time was 26 months (range, 1-190 months). Results: Assisted primary technical success was 96.8%. Reintervention-free survival for 5 and 10 years was 85.2% and 75.6%, respectively. Independent risk factors for reintervention were technical success (P <.001), type I endoleak (P <.001), and type II endoleak (P = .003). Late adverse events requiring reintervention included rupture (0.4%), limb occlusion (0.4%), and stent migration (0.4%). Type Ia (4.8%), lb (2.8%), II (35.9%), and V (6.5%) endoleaks were reported throughout follow-up. Sac growth was more prevalent with the original GORE EXCLUDER compared with the low permeability GORE EXCLUDER (P = .001) and in the presence of type I, II, and V endoleaks (P Conclusions: Treatment with the GORE EXCLUDER is effective with acceptable reintervention rates in the long-term and few device-related adverse events or ruptures up to 10 years. Observed late adverse events and new-onset endoleaks emphasize the need for long-term surveillance