[Rupture of abdominal aorta aneurysms. Study of 92 cases operated on over a ten year period (1980-1989)]

From January 1980 to December 1989, 92 ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA) were operated upon in emergency at our institution. During the same period, 747 AAA were operated in election or in the absence of rupture. The mean age of patients was 72.8 +/- 9.1 (52-95). There were 81 men and 11 women. Etiology of the AAA was common degenerative in all cases except in one case of aortic dissection and one case of infectious aneurysm. 27 (29.3%) patients presented antecedents of bronchopathy, 31 (33.7%) antecedents of hypertension and 36 (39.1%) antecedents of coronary heart disease. All patients were operated upon under general anesthesia, in two (2.1%) cases through a thoraco-abdominal exposure, in one case through a lombotomy, in one case, using exclusion and an extra anatomic bypass and through a midline transperitoneal laparotomy in all 88 (96.9%) other cases. The mean diameter of the AAA was 9 +/- 3.9 (4-25) cm. The rupture was intra-peritoneal in 26 (28.3%) cases, intra caval in 5 (5.4%) cases, intra duodenal in 2 (2.2%) cases and retro peritoneal in all the other 59 (64.1%) cases. The aorta was cross clamped above the renal arteries in 15 (16.3%) cases, under the renal arteries in 48 (52.2%) cases and at both levels in 29 (31.5%) cases. Surgical treatment consisted in an aorto-aortic tubular graft in 45 (48.9%) cases, a bifurcated aortic graft in 32 (34.8%) cases, an exclusion with extra anatomic bypass in one (1%) case and could not be completed before the death of the patient in 14 (15.3%) cases. There were 56 (60.9%) deaths, 27 (29.4%) in the per operative and 29 (31.5%) in the post operative periods after a mean time of 5.7 +/- 9.2 (0-36) days. The cause of the death was hemorrhage in 25 (44.4) cases, cardiac complications in 28 (50%) cases, renal insufficiency in 1 (2%) case, pulmonary complications in 1 (2%) case and septic complications in one (2%) case. During the period of the present study, rupture of an AAA remained, in our institution as in other institutions an often fatal condition. This condition could probably be avoided with a policy of early detection and surgical treatment.