Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Wall Stresses After Endovascular Repair

The early benefits of an endovascular approach to abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) treatment has been reported by many authors [1,2]. One of the major advantages is that endovascular repair of AAA (EVAR) as opposed to traditional open surgery, is not a major abdominal surgery. EVAR has been shown to be associated with a death rate comparable to that of surgical repair [3]. In short term follow-up, EVAR is associated with fewer complications and a more rapid recovery [2]. On the contrary very limited data is available on long term follow-up of EVAR patients. Graft-related secondary interventions affect a consistent percentage of the treated cases. The EUROSTAR study [4] recently reported 13% of reintervention in 15.4 months. Our surgical unit reported 20.6% across 48 months in a recent review of 242 cases [3]. The frequence and type of reintervention, whose principal cause is endoleak or perigraft flow, requires careful consideration.