Impact of endovascular repair on open aortic aneurysm surgical training

• Published in: Journal of vascular surgery 2001-11, Vol.34 (5), p.885-891
• Main Authors: Arko, Frank R., Lee, W.Anthony, Hill, Bradley B., Olcott, Cornelius, Harris, E.John, Dalman, Ronald L., Fogarty, Thomas J., Zarins, Christopher K.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Aortic Aneurysm, Abdominal - epidemiology; Aortic Aneurysm, Abdominal - surgery; Aortic Aneurysm, Thoracic - epidemiology; Aortic Aneurysm, Thoracic - surgery; Blood Vessel Prosthesis Implantation; Humans; Stents; Vascular Surgical Procedures - education; Vascular Surgical Procedures - statistics & numerical data; Vascular Surgical Procedures - trends
• ISSN: 0741-5214; 1097-6809
• DOI: 10.1067/mva.2001.118816

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of an endovascular stent-graft program on vascular training in open aortic aneurysm surgery. Methods: The institutional and vascular surgery fellow experience in aortic aneurysm repair during a 6-year period was reviewed. The 3-year period before introduction of endovascular repair was compared with the 3-year period after introduction of endovascular repair. All patients undergoing abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) or thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysm repairs were entered prospectively into a vascular registry and retrospectively analyzed to evaluate the changing patterns in aortic aneurysm treatment and surgical training. Results: Between July 1994 and June 2000, a total of 588 patients with AAA or thoracoabdominal aneurysms were treated at Stanford University Medical Center. There were 296 (50%) open infrarenal AAA repairs, 87 (15%) suprarenal AAA repairs, 47 (8%) thoracoabdominal aneurysm repairs, and 153 (26%) endovascular stent-grafts. The total number of aneurysms repaired per year by vascular fellows before the endovascular program was 71.3 ± 4.9 (range, 68-77) and increased to 124.7 ± 35.6 (range, 91-162) after introduction of endovascular repair (P