Abdominal aortic aneurysmectomy without preoperative angiography. A prospective study.

Overview

In an attempt to analyze whether routine angiography is necessary prior to elective abdominal aortic aneurysmectomy (AAA), a prospective study was designed in which this examination was obtained only for specific indications. These included significant hypertension, renal dysfunction, symptoms of visceral ischemia, suprarenal extension of the aneurysm or a coexisting thoracic aneurysm, and diminished or absent femoral pulses. A consecutive series of 124 abdominal aortic aneurysms is reported, in which 110 procedures were performed electively. Preoperative angiograms were obtained in only ten patients (9.1%) and in nine of these an alteration in the usual operative strategy resulted. In the remaining 100 patients undergoing elective AAA without preoperative aortography, acceptable morbidity and mortality rates were obtained despite the intraoperative discovery of iliac aneurysms in 25 patients (23%) and accessory renal arteries in three patients (2.7%). In the absence of specific indications for angiography, the mainstay of the preoperative evaluation for abdominal aortic aneurysms should be computed tomography (CT). The preoperative workup can be done entirely on an outpatient basis.