The long-term (10 year) results of aortic bifurcation arterial self-expanding stent placement in patients with arterial occlusive disease show a 10 year primary stent patency rate of 68% but a secondary assisted patency rate of 86%. In addition there is a high overall mortality due to other cardiovascular causes and the rate of distal disease progression and loss of patency is similar to the loss of stent patency rate.

No abstract

Only half of EVAR patients underwent complete long-term imaging surveillance. However, incomplete imaging could not be linked to any increase in mortality. Further work is required to establish the role and deliverability of EVAR imaging surveillance.

AimsTo investigate whether aneurysm shape and extent, which indicate whether a patient with ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm (rAAA) is eligible for endovascular repair (EVAR), influence the outcome of both EVAR and open surgical repair.Methods and resultsThe influence of six morphological parameters (maximum aortic diameter, aneurysm neck diameter, length and conicality, proximal neck angle, and maximum common iliac diameter) on mortality and reinterventions within 30 days was investigated in rAAA patients randomized before morphological assessment in the Immediate Management of the Patient with Rupture: Open Versus Endovascular strategies (IMPROVE) trial. Patients with a proven diagnosis of rAAA, who underwent repair and had their admission computerized tomography scan submitted to the core laboratory, were included. Among 458 patients (364 men, mean age 76 years), who had either EVAR (n = 177) or open repair (n = 281) started, there were 155 deaths and 88 re-interventions within 30 days of randomization analysed according to a pre-specified plan. The mean maximum aortic diameter was 8.6 cm. There were no substantial correlations between the six morphological variables. Aneurysm neck length was shorter in those undergoing open repair (vs. EVAR). Aneurysm neck length (mean 23.3, SD 16.1 mm) was inversely associated with mortality for open repair and overall: adjusted OR 0.72 (95% CI 0.57, 0.92) for each 16 mm (SD) increase in length. There were no convincing associations of morphological parameters with reinterventions.ConclusionShort aneurysm necks adversely influence mortality after open repair of rAAA and preclude conventional EVAR. This may help explain why observational studies, but not randomized trials, have shown an early survival benefit for EVAR.Clinical trial registration:ISRCTN 48334791.