Surgical Treatment of Ruptured Aortic Aneurysms

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Abstract
During the past few years excisional therapy of aortic aneurysms has been firmly established as the treatment of choice. The hazards of aortic aneurysms are well recognized. Thoracic aneurysms may cause unbearable pain from root compression and vertebral erosion. They may obstruct adjacent structures, such as trachea, bronchi, and esophagus. Abdominal aneurysms may also cause root pain. They sometimes bring about gastrointestinal dysfunction, and they may result in obstruction of the ureters or vesicle neck. The greatest hazard of aortic aneurysms, however, is rupture, and it is the threat of rupture which provides the single most compelling reason for advocating surgical treatment. When this complication occurs the patient is almost sure to die unless definitive surgery is carried out immediately. That prompt operation offers hope under such circumstances has been pointed out recently in an editorial by Gerbode.1 It is the purpose of this paper to illustrate the potentialities

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