EVAR Better Than Open Surgery for Repair of Ruptured AAAs in EVAR-Suitable Patients
At ISET 2010, which took place in Hollywood, Florida, a Dutch study was presented by investigator Dr. Jan Ten Bosch of Atrium Medical Center in The Netherlands (Ten Bosch J. Endovascular repair versus open surgery in EVAR-suitable patients with a ruptured AAA. ISET 2010: 22nd Annual International Symposium on Endovascular Therapy; January 18, 2010; Hollywood, Florida).
The study showed a > 25% reduction in mortality in patients who underwent EVAR compared to those who underwent an open surgical approach to repair their ruptured AAA. Of note, all patients included in the study were suitable for both EVAR and open surgery. At 6 months, 7/25 (28%) patients who underwent EVAR had died, while 18/33 (55%) patients with open surgery had died (p < 0.05).
Also of interest, the Dutch investigators, in a separate presentation, announced that a possible biomarker to predict aortic leaks — matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) — has been found, and would obviate the need for expensive CT-angiography to detect such leaks (Ten Bosch J. Plasma levels of matrix metalloproteinase-9 as marker of successful endovascular aneurysm repair. ISET 2010: 22nd Annual International Symposium on Endovascular Therapy; January 18, 2010; Hollywood, Florida).
Reported by: theheart.org
