Surgical management of giant cell arteritis of the proximal aorta

Giant cell arteritis (GCA) may present as proximal aortic pathology requiring surgical intervention. We present our experience with surgical management of GCA in patients presenting with proximal aortic disease.

From January 1993 to May 2020, 184 adult patients were diagnosed with GCA on histopathology after undergoing cardiac surgery. Survival was estimated with Kaplan-Meier method. Reoperation rates were estimated with cumulative incidence accounting for competing risks of death.

The most common indication for surgery was ascending aortic aneurysm (n = 179, 97.3%). Stroke occurred in 6 (3.3%), pneumonia in 8 (4.4%), and dialysis in 3 (1.6%) patients. Multivariable analysis found advanced age (hazard ratio [HR], 1.054; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.026-1.082, P < .001), recent heart failure (HR, 1.890; 95% CI, 1.016-3.516, P = .04), peripheral vascular disease (HR, 2.229; 95% CI, 1.458-3.624, P < .001), and cerebrovascular disease (HR, 1.762; 95% CI, 1.035-3.000, P = .03) as predictors of late mortality. Median follow-up was 13.7 years, and 30-day mortality was 1.5%. Nineteen patients underwent 24 aortic reinterventions including aortic arch reconstruction (n = 4), descending thoracic aorta aneurysm repair (n = 8), thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysm repair (n = 11), and pseudoaneurysm repair (n = 1). Rate of reintervention on the aorta was 3.9% (95% CI, 1.9%-8.1%), 7.1% (95% CI, 4.1%-12.3%), 12.8% (95% CI, 8.3%-19.6%), and 12.8% (95% CI, 8.3%-19.6%) at 1, 5, 10, and 15 years, respectively.

Surgery in patients with GCA can be performed with acceptable early and late outcomes. Advancing age, heart failure, peripheral vascular disease, and cerebrovascular disease are risk factors for worse survival. Postoperative surveillance is important as need for aortic reintervention is not uncommon.