Successful Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Repair in Ninety-Five Years Old Man

ABSTRACT

The overall life expectancy of the population is rising and more elderly patients with abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) have been reported. The management of AAA is open surgical or endovascular repair because neglected AAA usually yields an eventually fatal course. Older age is commonly considered as a risk factor for AAA repair due to the concomitant age-related diseases such as coronary artery disease. The chronological and physiological age are not always identical, and sometimes a patient's physiological age appears younger than the chronological age. We report here on successful open surgical repair of AAA in a 95 years old man (birth date April 11, 1911) who looked younger and healthier than his chronological age. The preoperative CT angiography showed an infrarenal saccular AAA 4.2 cm in diameter with fingertip-sized outpouching of the aneurysmal wall, which suggested possible impending rupture. His preoperative work-up was within normal limits. This 95 years old gentleman well tolerated all the surgical procedures with a smooth postoperative course. We propose that the age limitation for AAA repair should be considered individually for each case.