Open Repair of Thoracoabdominal Aortic Aneurysm in Patients 50 Years Old and Younger

Abstract

Evolving endovascular approaches to thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysm (TAAA) repair are attractive alternatives to the "gold standard" of conventional open TAAA repair. However, open repair may be more suitable for younger patients. We compared the outcomes of open TAAA repair in younger (≤50 years) and older (>50 years) patients to evaluate operative risk in younger patients. We analyzed retrospective and prospective data from 3,346 cases of open TAAA repair performed between 1986 and 2015. Of those patients, 445 (13.3%) were 50 years old or younger and 2,901 (86.7%) were older than 50 years at the time of repair. In the younger cohort, 237 patients (53.3%) had connective tissue disorder, and many (n= 359, 80.7%) had aortic dissection. Younger patients tended to be in good health, and rupture was uncommon (n= 11, 2.5%). The outcomes examined included adverse event, a composite endpoint that comprised operative death or persistent stroke, paraplegia, paraparesis, or renal failure requiring dialysis. Comparisons between the two age groups showed that younger patients underwent more extent II repairs, urgent/emergent repairs, and visceral artery bypass procedures and had longer aortic clamp times. Nevertheless, younger patients had better early outcomes than did older patients, including lower rates of operative death (3.2% vs 8.2%, p= 0.002) and adverse events (5.2% vs 15.9%, p < 0.001). Multivariable analyses determined age 50 years old or younger to be an independent predictor of reduced adverse events (relative risk ratio= 0.29, p < 0.001). Early outcomes of open TAAA repair were excellent for patients 50 years old or younger, despite the fact that these patients typically required extensive repairs.