WEDNESDAY, May 19 (HealthDay News) -- Survival rates are similar six years after open or endovascular repair of abdominal aortic aneurysms, though secondary interventions are more common after endovascular treatment, according to research published in the May 20 New England Journal of Medicine.
Jorg L. De Bruin, MD, of the Vrije Universiteit Medical Center in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, and colleagues analyzed data from 351 patients with abdominal aortic aneurysm of at least five centimeters in diameter who were randomized to receive open or endovascular repair.
The researchers found cumulative survival rates of 69.9 percent and 68.9 percent for open and endovascular repair, respectively, six years after randomization. However, cumulative rates of freedom from secondary interventions were 81.9 percent and 70.4 percent, respectively. Reinterventions after endovascular repair were typically performed for complications such as endoleak and endograft migration.
"The need for reintervention after endovascular repair persists even at eight years. Thus, patients with a favorable life expectancy should consider open repair, and careful follow-up of patients undergoing endovascular repair is essential, since some late deaths are potentially preventable with close monitoring and appropriate reintervention. All patients should be informed of the advantages and disadvantages of endovascular repair," writes the author of an accompanying editorial.
The study was supported by the Netherlands National Health Insurance Council. Several co-authors disclosed financial relationships with makers of medical devices and supplies.
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