RIGHT AXILLARY ARTERIAL PSEUDOANEURYSM CAUSING PERMANENT NEUROLOGICAL DAMAGE AT RIGHT UPPER LIMB: A CASE REPORT

Abdominal aortic aneurysm is one of the most important cause of mortality among the cardiovascular disease in el• derly patients. The incidence of abdominal aortic aneurysm in elderly population has been increased due to advan­ ced life span. in this study, results of surgical treatment tor abdominal aortic aneurysm in patients more than 70 ye­ ars old was investigated.

From January 1994 to January 2002, a total of 124 patients underwent elective surgical correction for unruptured ab­ dominal aortic aneurysm in our department. The mean age of the patients was 66.2 ±8.4 (33-84). Forty-five patients were aged 70 years or older (elderly group). These patients were compared with 79 patients aged younger than 70 years old (young group) by the terms of demographic, operative and postoperative variables.

Atherosclerosis was found significantly higher in elderly group (%100, %89.9, p=0.05). Also, the ratio of symptoma­ tic patients in this group was higher than in the young group (%75.6, %49.4, p=0.04). There was no difference bet­ ween the groups regarding operative data such as clamping levels, clamping time, blood and blood product usage, autotransfusion, graft type, reimplantation of inferior mezenteric artery. ln-hospital mortality in the elderly group was 4.4% with 2 patients, whereas 1.3% with 1 patient in the young group (p=0.298). in the elderly group postoperative morbidity was 31.1% (14 patients), while in the young group morbidity was 11.4% (9 patients) (p=0.007).

Complication rates after the elective abdominal aortic aneurysm surgery was higher in the elderly patients than in the young ones. Advanced atherosclerosis and co-existence disease might be responsible for this. However, low operative mortality in the elderly patients, encourage to our desicion that elective surgical repair must be offered to older patients before the occurrence of rupture.