Intraoperative complications in aneurysm surgery: a prospective national study

With increasing use of endovascular procedures, the number of aneurysms treated surgically will decline. In this study the authors review complications related to the surgical treatment of aneurysms and address the issue of maintaining quality standards on a national level.

A prospective, nonselected amalgamation of every aneurysm case treated in five of six neurosurgical centers in Sweden during 1 calendar year was undertaken (422 patients; 7.4 persons/100,000 population/year). The treatment protocols at these institutions were very similar. Outcome was assessed using clinical end points. In this series, 84.1% of the patients underwent surgery, and intraoperative complications occurred in 30% of these procedures. Poor outcome from technical complications was seen in 7.9% of the surgically treated patients. Intraoperative aneurysm rupture accounted for 60% and branch sacrifice for 12% of all technical difficulties. Although these complications were significantly related to aneurysm base geometry and the competence of the surgeon, problems still occurred apparently at random and also in the best of hands (17%). The temporary mean occlusion time in the patients who suffered intraoperative aneurysm rupture was twice as long as the temporary arrest of blood flow performed to aid dissection.

The results obtained in this series closely reflect the overall management results of this disease and support the conclusion that surgical complications causing a poor outcome can be estimated on a large population-based scale. Intraoperative aneurysm rupture was the most common and most devastating technical complication that occurred. Support was found for a more liberal use of temporary clips early during dissection, regardless of the experience of the surgeon. Temporary regional interruption of arterial blood flow should be a routine method for aneurysm surgery on an everyday basis. A random occurrence of difficult intraoperative problems was clearly shown, and this factor of unpredictability, which is present in any preoperative assessment of risk, strengthens the case for recommending neuroprotection as a routine adjunct to virtually every aneurysm operation, regardless of the surgeon's experience.