| Successful Surgical Correction
for an Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm in Two Elderly Patients Aged
over 90 |
(Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Saga Prefectural
Hospital, Koseikan, Saga, Japan and Department of Thoracic and
Cardiovascular Surgery, Saga Medical School*, Saga, Japan)
| Hiroyuki Ohnishi |
Hitoshi Ohteki |
Kojiro Furukawa |
| Yuji Takeda |
Kazuyoshi Doi* |
|
|
Surgical treatment of abdominal
aortic aneurysms in elderly patients aged over 90 is rare, and
the surgical indications in such patients is controversial. Two
cases of abdominal aortic aneurysm successfully treated surgically
are reported. The first case was a 92-year-old woman, who manifested
a severe abdominal pain without hypotension. An impending rupture
of an abdominal aortic aneurysm was suggested on enhanced CT
scan, and emergency surgery was indicated. The aneurysm was replaced
with a woven Dacron Y-graft. Postoperatively, the patient's social
activity returned to the preoperative level. The second case
was a 91-year-old man, in whom an increasing abdominal aortic
aneurysm had been pointed out on UCG and enhanced CT scan. Because
he was socially very active for his age, elective surgery was
indicated. The aneurysm was resected and replaced with a woven
Dacron I-graft. Postoperatively, the patient overcame a respiratory
complication and was eventually discharged without any physical
complication. Although he was able to climb mountains before
the surgery, he lost some physical activity after the surgery.
Because of the potential decrease in physical strength especially
in very elderly patients, the general risk evaluation did not
always correspond to a precise evaluation and prediction of postoperative
activity. It is therefore necessary to be flexible in deciding
on the surgical indications in each case.
Jpn. J. Cardiovasc. Surg. 29: 286-289 (2000) |
|
