[Risk factors in surgery of the abdominal aorta]

Surgical risk factors of abdominal aortic disease. Between January 1, 1982 and October 1986, 327 surgical repairs were performed on abdominal aortic obstructive diseases and aneurysms at the St. Luc University Hospital. 150 pre-, per- and postoperative data were collected retrospectively for each patient. Ninety-one per cent of patients were smokers, 57.5 per cent had heart disease, 43 per cent arterial hypertension, 51 per cent peripheral vascular disease and 28 percent had obstructive lung disease. Concerning cardiac morbidity, the post-operative infarction rate was 4.4 per cent in patients who had previously suffered from an infarction, and 1.9 per cent in patients with no previous infarction. Post-operative angina-ischemia rate were respectively 23 and 4.7 per cent. Two hundred and thirty two elective operations resulted in 6 deaths (2.6 per cent) while 95 emergency operations resulted in 34 deaths (35.8 per cent). The causes of the death and the post-operative complications are detailed. The decrease of the morbidity and the mortality rates inherent to this pathology depends on an early diagnosis and surgical treatment by a team, knowledgeable of this pathology, who are able to prevent and correctly treat the complications, especially those affecting the cardiovascular system.