Juxtarenal aortic aneurysm repair

Objectives Juxtarenal aortic aneurysms (JAA) account for approximately 15% of abdominal aortic aneurysms. Despite advances in endovascular aneurysm repair, open repair requiring suprarenal aortic cross-clamping is still the treatment of choice for JAA. We performed a systematic review of the literature to determine perioperative mortality and postoperative renal dysfunction after open repair for non-ruptured JAA. Methods The Medline, Embase, and Cochrane databases were searched to identify all studies reporting non-ruptured JAA repair published between January 1966 and December 2008. Two independent observers selected studies for inclusion, assessed the methodologic quality of the included studies, and performed the data extraction. Study heterogeneity was assessed using forest plots and by calculating the between-study variance. Outcomes were perioperative mortality, postoperative renal dysfunction, and new onset of dialysis. Summary estimates with 95% confidence interval (95% CI) were calculated using a random effects model based on the binomial distribution. Results Twenty-one non-randomized cohort studies from 1986 to 2008, reporting on 1256 patients, were included. Heterogeneity between the studies was low. The mean perioperative mortality was 2.9% (95% CI, 1.8 to 4.6). The mean incidence of new onset of dialysis was 3.3% (95% CI, 2.4 to 4.5). Incidence of postoperative renal dysfunction could be derived from 13 studies and ranged from 0% to 39% (median, 18%). In seven studies, cold renal perfusion during suprarenal clamping was performed in order to preserve renal function; however, based upon the included data, definitive conclusions regarding its efficacy could not be drawn. Conclusions Open repair of non-ruptured JAA using suprarenal cross-clamping can be performed with acceptable perioperative mortality; however, postoperative deterioration of renal function is a common complication. Preservation of renal function after JAA repair requires further investigation.