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Manufacturing Abdominal Aorta Hydrogel Tissue-Mimicking Phantoms for Ultrasound Elastography Validation
Published on: September 19, 2018
Management of tender abdominal aortic aneurysm
1Department of Surgery, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg.
Summary
Tender abdominal aortic aneurysms that have not leaked have a high mortality rate (16.6%) when treated with emergency surgery. Pre-operative computed tomography can identify non-leaking aneurysms, improving patient outcomes.
Area of Science:
- Vascular Surgery
- Diagnostic Imaging
Background:
- Tender abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAAs) are often presumed to be leaking.
- Emergency surgery for suspected leaking AAAs carries significant risks.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the proportion of tender AAAs that are non-leaking at surgery.
- To assess the mortality associated with emergency surgery for non-leaking AAAs.
- To determine if pre-operative computed tomography (CT) can improve outcomes.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective evaluation of 48 patients with tender, hemodynamically stable abdominal aortic aneurysms.
- Surgical findings regarding aneurysm leakage were recorded.
- Mortality rates for patients undergoing emergency surgery were analyzed.
- The potential benefit of pre-operative CT was considered.
Main Results:
- 37.5% (18/48) of patients with tender AAAs were found to have non-leaking aneurysms at surgery.
- The mortality rate for these non-leaking aneurysms treated with emergency surgery was 16.6%.
- This high mortality suggests unnecessary emergency surgery for some patients.
Conclusions:
- A significant proportion of tender abdominal aortic aneurysms are not actively leaking.
- Emergency surgery for non-leaking AAAs leads to high mortality.
- Pre-operative computed tomography is recommended to accurately diagnose AAA leakage and avoid unnecessary emergency surgery.
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