[Surgery of abdominal aortic aneurysm in a department of vascular surgery integrated into a department of general surgery--is it satisfactory?].

Seventy-two operations for abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA), i.e 104 per mill. per year, were carried out by a vascular surgical unit integrated into a general surgical department. Mortality rate for elective operation was 3.8%, for acute operation without rupture 3.8% and with rupture 31.6%. Fifty percent of patients with rupture reached operation, which gives an overall mortality of about 66% and an incidence of 56 per mill. per year. Twice as many acute operations were carried out in this area compared to the rest of Denmark, and no haemodialysis-demanding complications occurred. These observations suggest that short transfer time is an important prognostic factor when treating ruptured AAA.