Early and late functional outcome assessments following endovascular and open aneurysm repair.

PURPOSE To compare early and late functional outcomes, as well as survival and recovery, following endovascular or open repair of abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA). METHODS Between 1996 and 2000, 294 patients underwent AAA repair (141 open and 153 endovascular); 57 patients from each group had 12-month follow-up for functional outcome assessment. Recovery was measured as hospital length of stay, skilled nursing requirement, and hospital readmission within 1 year to determine cumulative hospital utilization. Early (<6 months) functional outcomes were measured by activity level and convalescence days following surgery. Late (>6 months) functional outcomes were measured as ambulation, independent living, and employment status pre- and postoperatively. RESULTS Operative mortality for open repair was 5 (3.5%) compared to 1 (0.6%) after an endovascular procedure (p<0.05). The endovascular group had a shorter hospital stay (2.8+/-2.8 versus 8.3+/-4.5 days) and fewer skilled nursing requirements (0% versus 26%; p<0.001). Cumulative hospital utilization over 12 months was 3.8 days for endovascular patients and 13.8 days for open repair (p<0.001). Recovery time was 99.3+/-84.1 days (range 14-365) in conventionally treated patients and 32.1+/-43.5 days (range 7-180) in the stent-graft group (p<0.001). At 6 months, 43 (75%) open and 54 (95%) endovascular patients had full recovery (p<0.01). Activity levels decreased in 13 (23%) open and 3 (5%) endovascular patients after surgery (p<0.01). There were no differences in ambulation, independent living, or employment status before and after treatment. CONCLUSIONS Periprocedural survival following aneurysm repair is improved with endovascular grafting compared to open surgery, and recovery is more rapid, with a 78% reduction in total hospital days. Early functional outcomes are markedly improved with endovascular repair, while there is no difference in late functional outcomes between the procedures.