Similar 5-year outcomes between female and male patients undergoing elective endovascular abdominal aortic aneurysm repair with the Ovation stent graft.

OBJECTIVE

Female patients undergoing endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR) for infrarenal abdominal aortic aneurysms present with more challenging anatomy and historically have worse outcomes compared with men. The Ovation Abdominal Stent Graft platform (Endologix, Irving, Calif) contains a polymer-filled proximal sealing ring and has a low-profile delivery system, potentially beneficial in female patients. We therefore investigated differences in long-term outcomes between men and women treated with this device.

METHODS

We used data collected prospectively in the Effectiveness of Custom Seal with Ovation: Review of the Evidence (ENCORE) database, comprising five trials and the European Post-Market Registry. Anatomic characteristics of the proximal aneurysm neck and iliac arteries were compared between male and female patients. Outcomes were 5-year freedom from type IA and type I/III endoleaks, abdominal aortic aneurysm-related reinterventions, and overall survival. We used Kaplan-Meier analysis to estimate survival proportions and tested univariate differences in survival using log-rank tests. Cox proportional hazards modeling was used to adjust for baseline differences.

RESULTS

We identified 1045 (81%) male and 251 (19%) female patients undergoing EVAR. Female patients were older (mean age, 75 ± 8.4 years vs 73 ± 8.1 years; P < .006). Aneurysm diameter (52 ± 7.5 mm vs 55 ± 9.2 mm; P < .001) and proximal neck diameter (21 ± 3.3 mm vs 23 ± 2.9 mm; P < .001) were smaller in female patients, but adjusted for body surface area, female patients had relatively larger aneurysms and aneurysm necks. Furthermore, female patients presented with shorter proximal necks, smaller iliac artery diameters, more angulated necks, and higher rates of reverse-tapered necks. Five-year freedom from type IA endoleak was similar between men and women (97% vs 96%; P = .38), as was freedom from type I/III endoleaks (91% vs 94%; P = .37) and reinterventions (91% vs 93%; P = .67). Five-year survival was 81% for female patients, similar to the 79% in male patients (P = .55), with one aneurysm-related death in female patients (0.4%) and five in male patients (0.8%; P = .76). Risk-adjusted analyses showed no association between sex and type IA endoleak (hazard ratio [HR], 1.4; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.6-3.1; P = .41), type I/III endoleak (HR, 1.4; 95% CI, 0.7-2.8; P = .33), reintervention (HR, 1.0; 95% CI, 0.6-2.0; P = .77), and overall mortality (HR, 0.7; 95% CI, 0.4-1.1; P = .14).

CONCLUSIONS

Female patients undergoing EVAR with the Ovation platform presented with substantially more adverse proximal neck characteristics. Despite these differences, 5-year freedom from endoleaks and overall survival did not differ between sexes.