Three Cases of Infected Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm and <i>In</i>-<i>Situ </i>Repacement of the Affected Segment with a Prosthesis or Cryopreserved Arterial Homograft / 日本心臓血管外科学会雑誌

ABSTRACT

We encountered three cases of infra-renal infected abdominal aortic aneurysm in 2007 and 2008. Preoperative blood culture was positive in two of the three patients. All of the patients presented with fever of unknown origin. We replaced the affected segment of the abdominal aorta with a synthetic graft in 1 patient, and with a cryopreserved arterial homograft in the remaining 2 patients. An infected abdominal aortic aneurysm is a life-threatening condition. Diagnosis is often difficult, and emergency surgery may be necessitated by rupture of the aneurysm. Our experience suggests that computed tomography is effective for the diagnosis of infected aneurysms. The most effective surgical technique consists of complete resection of the aneurysm, <i>in</i>-<i>situ </i>replacement of the affected aortic segment with a synthetic graft or homograft, and omental coverage.