Nineteen year experience on the treatment of aneurysms of the abdominal aorta: a survey of 832 consecutive cases.

832 patients with abdominal aortic aneurysm were admitted to our Hospital, at the University of Milan, from 1965 to 1983. 238 patients were operated on as an emergency for rupture of the aneurysm while 541 underwent elective surgery. The overall postoperative mortality was 7% for the patients operated on electively and 54.3% for the ruptured aneurysm operated on as an emergency.