Journal Review in Vascular Surgery: Updates on Size Threshold for Repair of Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms

Behind The Knife: The Surgery Podcast

A 70 year old healthy female is referred to you with a 5.7 cm abdominal aortic aneurysm. As an astute clinician you are aware that current guidelines support surgical repair for her AAA. What if there was new data to suggest this patient may not benefit from repair? What would be the optimal size threshold that she would benefit from AAA repair? Tune into this episode of Behind the Knife, where the vascular surgery subspecialty team discusses a paper that challenges current size threshold guidelines for AAA repair.
Hosts:
Dr. Bobby Beaulieu is an Assistant Professor of Vascular Surgery at the University of Michigan and the Program Director of the Integrated Vascular Surgery Residency Program as well as the Vascular Surgery Fellowship Program at the University of Michigan.
Dr. Frank Davis is an Assistant Professor of Vascular Surgery at the University of Michigan
Dr. Drew Braet is a PGY-5 Integrated Vascular Surgery Resident at the University of Michigan
Learning Objectives
- Review the current size threshold guidelines for surgical repair of abdominal aortic aneurysms
- Understand the limitations of the aforementioned guidelines
- Understand the methodology, findings, limitations, and clinical applications of the manuscript “Size thresholds for repair of abdominal aortic aneurysms warrant reconsideration.”

References
1. Columbo JA, Scali ST, Jacobs BN, et al. Size thresholds for repair of abdominal aortic aneurysms warrant reconsideration. Journal of Vascular Surgery. 2024;79(5):1069-1078.e8. doi:10.1016/j.jvs.2024.01.017
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38262565/
2. Chaikof EL, Dalman RL, Eskandari MK, et al. The Society for Vascular Surgery practice guidelines on the care of patients with an abdominal aortic aneurysm. Journal of Vascular Surgery. 2018;67(1):2-77.e2. doi:10.1016/j.jvs.2017.10.044
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29268916/
3. Wanhainen A, Van Herzeele I, Bastos Goncalves F, et al. Editor’s Choice -- European Society for Vascular Surgery (ESVS) 2024 Clinical Practice Guidelines on the Management of Abdominal Aorto-Iliac Artery Aneurysms. European Journal of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery. 2024;67(2):192-331. doi:10.1016/j.ejvs.2023.11.002
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38307694/
4. The UK Small Aneurysm Trial Participants, Mortality results for randomised controlled trial of early elective surgery or ultrasonographic surveillance for small abdominal aortic aneurysms. Lancet 1998;352 (9141) 1649- 1655
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9853436/
5. Lederle FAWilson SEJohnson GR et al. Aneurysm Detection and Management Veterans Affairs Cooperative Study Group, Immediate repair compared with surveillance of small abdominal aortic aneurysms. N Engl J Med 2002;346 (19) 1437- 1444
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12000813/
6. United Kingdom EVAR Trial Investigators; Greenhalgh RM, Brown LC, Powell JT, Thompson SG, Epstein D. Endovascular repair of aortic aneurysm in patients physically ineligible for open repair. N Engl J Med. 2010 May 20;362(20):1872-80. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa0911056. Epub 2010 Apr 11. PMID: 20382982.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20382982/

7. Lederle FA, Johnson GR, Wilson SE, Ballard DJ, Jordan WD Jr, Blebea J, Littooy FN, Freischlag JA, Bandyk D, Rapp JH, Salam AA; Veterans Affairs Cooperative Study #417 Investigators. Rupture rate of large abdominal aortic aneurysms in patients refusing or unfit for elective repair. JAMA. 2002 Jun 12;287(22):2968-72. doi: 10.1001/jama.287.22.2968. PMID: 12052126.
8. Lancaster EM, Gologorsky R, Hull MM, Okuhn S, Solomon MD, Avins AL, Adams JL, Chang RW. The natural history of large abdominal aortic aneurysms in patients without timely repair. J Vasc Surg. 2022 Jan;75(1):109-117. doi: 10.1016/j.jvs.2021.07.125. Epub 2021 Jul 26. PMID: 34324972.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34324972/
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