Quality of life and survival of septuagenarians and octogenarians after repair of descending and thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysms

Objective: We assessed quality of life and survival in elderly patients after complex aortic operations to aid in surgical decision making. Methods: A retrospective review was performed of 93 patients who underwent descending thoracic aneurysm or thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysm (TAAA) repair from 2002 to 2008. A Cox model was used for survival analysis. The SF-36 Item Health Survey was administered to assess postoperative quality of life in 39 patients and was compared with age- and gender-matched normal scores. Results: The mean age at operation was 75 ± 4.1 years; 51% of patients were male. In-hospital mortality was 15%. One-year survival was 69%, and 5-year survival was 45%. Only acute respiratory distress syndrome was a predictor of in-hospital mortality (hazard ratio = 3.75; P < .01) and 1-year mortality (hazard ratio = 4.61; P < .001). After 1 year, patients enjoyed longevity equivalent to that of a normal age- and gender-matched population (standardized mortality ratio = 1.06; P = .81). Being male is a predictor of long-term survival (hazard ratio = 0.18; P < .05). For women, extremely low and high body mass indexes (quadratic term = 0.020; P < .05) with an inflection point of body mass index of 28 is a risk factor of long-term survival. Quality of life scores were similar to those of the general population except for lower vitality scores, (s-score = -0.67, 95% CI, -1.09 to -0.26). Conclusions: TAAA repair in this selected older surgical population yields acceptable survival beyond the first year. Among 1-year survivors, quality of life is similar to that of an age- and gender-matched population.