Complications and reintervention following elective open abdominal aortic aneurysm repair: a 10-year retrospective analysis

INTRODUCTIONRecent data have shown higher rates of graft related complication or reintervention in patients undergoing endovascular aneurysm repair compared with open aneurysm surgery (OAS). However, there are fewer data available regarding procedure related reinterventions following OAS. The aim of this study was to investigate the incidence of procedure related complications and reintervention following elective open abdominal aortic aneurysm repair. METHODSThis was a retrospective analysis of prospectively collected data from the dedicated Portsmouth POSSUM database. Data from 361 patients (median age: 72 years, 91.4% male) who underwent elective OAS between 1993 and 2004 were analysed. The incidences of early and late complications and subsequent reintervention were investigated. RESULTSThe median follow-up duration was 10 years 4 months (range: 5 years - 16 years 4 months). There were 52 reinterventions in the follow-up period. Of these, 34.6% were for incisional hernias or small bowel obstruction wi...