Graft-related complications after open surgery of abdominal aortic aneurysm – An 8-year follow-up study

Introduction: Open surgery repair (OSR) is generally considered as a single definitive procedure and requires minimal postoperative follow-up once immediate survival is established. There are many studies which focus on endovascular aneurysm repair reintervention, only few contemporary studies report graft-related reinterventions after open repair. The present study describes the incidence of graft-related complications following OSR for abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) and its management. This study also analyse the factors which can preoperatively predict the occurrence of graft related complications, so that necessary steps can be taken to prevent such complications. Materials and Methods: This is a single-center prospective analysis of 165 patients who underwent elective open repair for AAA over a period of 8 years from January 2008 to December 2016. Demographics, preoperative, perioperative, and postoperative data were recorded in a structured data collection sheet after reviewing patient records and institutional electronic medical records after obtaining clearance from the Institutional Ethics Committee. Results: The overall incidence of graft-related complications in our study was 6.6%. The most common graft-related complication in our study is iliac graft limb occlusion 3.6% followed by graft infection of 1.5% and anastomotic pseudo aneurysm of 1.5%. The graft-related reintervention rate is 5.1% and graft-related mortality is 1.5% in 8-year follow-up. The risk factors for graft-related complications are preoperative uncontrolled DM, aorto-iliac aneurysms, use of bifurcated graft, and postoperative wound infection. Conclusions: This study showed that aggressive control of DM preoperatively and anastomosing distal Y-limb of graft to femoral artery rather than external iliac artery may decrease the complications. The majority of graft-related complications occurred 2 years after surgery. Hence, we suggest that those patients with above risk factors should be put on a short-interval surveillance program.