Modes of presentation and management of inflammatory aneurysms of the abdominal aorta.

The preoperative diagnosis of inflammatory aneurysms of the abdominal aorta (IAAA) is seldom made, yet knowledge of its presence would be an aid to the surgeon. A heightened awareness of the variety of clinical presentations of IAAA should prompt the clinician to consider this entity in the differential diagnosis of back pain, weight loss and obstructive uropathy. Hypovolemic shock, gastrointestinal bleeding and asymptomatic IAAA have also occurred, albeit much less frequently. Patients who are hemodynamically stable might benefit from a short period of diagnostic and therapeutic measures before operation. Patients undergoing aneurysm repair on an "urgent" rather than "emergent" basis have been shown to have lower mortality and morbidity rates with enhancement of their cardiopulmonary and renal status. Computed tomographic scanning preoperatively in stable patients using careful supervision can confirm the diagnosis and allow more time for patient and surgical team preparation. Knowledge and avoidance of technical pitfalls intraoperatively further lessens mortality and complications.