Objective: To improve the safety of abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) repair.
Method: The experience of 482 cases of AAA in surgical treatment and endovascular graft exclusion were reviewed from January 1960 to March 2001.
Results: Retroperitoneal approach and minimal incision was used for AAA operation. New methods for control of the "neck" of aneurysm, aneurysmectomy and endovascular graft exclusion were applied. The danger of AAA repair obviously decreased. The operative mortality was 5.2% and the five-year survival rate was 74.4%.
Conclusion: The improvement of surgical and anesthetic techniques made AAA resection rapid and safe.