ABSTRACT
Objective To study the etiology, diagnosis and treatment of acute occlusion of abdominal aorta(AOAA). Methods Clinical data of 35 patients with AOAA admitted to our hospital from January 1980 to August 2001 were analyzed retrospectively. Results There were 17 patients with acute aortic embolism(AAE) and 18 patients with acute aortic thrombosis(AAT) . All cases had total occlusion of abdominal aorta,and bilateral iliac arteries were involved. All the 35 cases underwent operations, including bilateral transfemoral thromboembolectomy by Fogarty balloon catheter in 18 cases, thromboembolectomy via laparotomy aortotomy in 11 cases, aortobiiliac reconstruction in 2 cases, aortobifemoral bypass in 2 ( 1 had profundaplasty) and axillobifemoral bypass in other 2 cases. Operative mortality was 25.7%(9/35). After the operations, artery embolism recurred in 3 cases; 3 patients required amputation; renal failure occurred in 3 cases and paraplegia in 4; ischemic colitis occurred in 5, impaired sexuality in 1 and incomplete intestinal obstruction in 1. Conclusions AOAA is an urgent disease with high mortality. Fast preoperative diagnosis and prompt operation are the keys to salvage the patient. Color Doppler is the first choice of diagnosis. Fogarty balloon catheter thromboembolectomy and vascular reconstruction are effective treatments for this disease.