[Not Available].

STUDY OBJECTIVE

To compare the postoperative and medium-term outcomes of laparoscopic aortic surgery with those of conventional aortic surgery performed by a surgical team trained in laparoscopic aortic surgery.

METHODS

A prospective study was conducted between January 2006 and December 2011 with 228 consecutive patients having undergone aortic bypass surgery for either an abdominal aortic aneurysm (n = 139) or an occlusive aortoiliac disease (n = 89). Conventional open aortic surgery was carried out in 145 patients, and total laparoscopic repair in 83 patients. The composite primary endpoint measure grouped together the following adverse events (AE): (1) any details < 30 days or later deaths related to the operation, (2) postoperative hemorrhage necessitating reoperation, (3) myocardial infarction I 30 days. (4) stroke I 30 days, (5) postoperative respiratory failure necessitating reintubation or assisted ventilation J 4 days, (6) aortic prosthesis infection, (7) aortic prosthesis occlusion, (8) any reoperation related to aortic surgery. In order to diminish biases attributable to the absence of randomization, the two surgical groups were matched by a propensity score enabling analysis of 50 pairs of patients having presented with identical preoperative characteristics. Univariate analysis of the AE occurring during the first 30 postoperative days was followed by multivariate analysis through logistic regression. The incidence rate of AE during follow-up was calculated using the Kaplan-Meier method and the roles of the different covariables were analyzed using the Cox model.

RESULTS

Univariate analysis of the groups adjusted for propensity score showed that laparoscopic repair was associated with significantly higher risk of AE over the first 30 postoperative days (p = 0.03). Logistic regression analysis showed that laparoscopic aortic technique (Odds Ratio (OR) ; 4.50) and coronary artery disease (OR ; 4.67) were independently related to occurrence of an AE during the postoperative period. Occurrence of AE during follow-up was analyzed using the Cox model. Only two variables, laparoscopic aortic surgery [Hazard Ratio (HR) ; 4,40 ; CI 95 % 1.70-11.38 ; p. = 0.002] and coronary artery occurrence of an AE during follow-up. The small number of patients prevented a separate analysis with regard to aneurysmal and occlusive aortic disease.

CONCLUSIONS

This study suggests that even with a well-trained surgical team, the laparoscopic approach increases risk for AE observed in the course of aortic surgery. ClinicalTrials. gov Identifier: NCT02325700.