An 18-cm unruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm

Abstract

Abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) is a significant source of morbidity and ranked by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as the 15th leading cause of death among adults aged 60 to 64 years. Size confers the largest risk factor for aneurysm rupture, with aneurysms >6 cm having an annual rupture risk of 14.1%. We present the case of a 60-year-old man found on ultrasound imaging at a health fair screening to have a 15-cm AAA. Follow-up computed tomography angiography revealed an 18-cm × 10-cm unruptured, infrarenal, fusiform AAA. Giant AAAs, defined as >11 cm, are rarely described in the literature. Our patient underwent successful transperitoneal AAA repair with inferior mesenteric artery reimplantation and was discharged home on operative day 6. We believe this case represents one of the largest unruptured AAAs in the literature and demonstrates the feasible approach for successful repair.