Background: To evaluate the feasibility and safety of thoracic endografting in the octogenarian population.
Methods: Between February 2000 and August 2005, 249 patients with a mean age of 69+/-12.3 years (range 23-91) underwent thoracic endografting. Forty-four patients (27 males and 17 females) were octogenarians with a mean age of 84+/-2.7 years. Indications for intervention included: atherosclerotic aneurysms (26/44, 59%), acute and chronic dissections (9/44, 20.5%), penetrating aortic ulcers (6/44, 14%) and contained rupture (3/44, 7%).
Results: Endovascular repair was achieved in all octogenarian patients (44/44, 100%). Mean length of stay was 4.7+/-3.6 days. Two cardiac-related deaths and 1 retrograde dissection death occurred (3/44, 7%). Complications included hemiparesis (n=2) with full recovery at discharge, groin hematoma (n=1), pneumonia (n=2) and stroke (n=1) [6/44, 11%]. Endoleaks were diagnosed in 3 patients [3/44, 7%] (2 type I, 1 type II) at 30-day follow-up. Two patients developed an endoleak beyond 30 days [2/44, 5%] (1 type I, 1 type II). Two re-interventions were necessary at 30 days (1 type I, 1 type II). Mean follow-up was 22 months and there were no device migrations or aortic ruptures. No statistical differences in overall mortality were noted between octogenarians and non-octogenarians at 30 days (7% vs 6%, p=NS), 12 months (18% vs 13%, p=NS) and 24 months (27% vs 15%, p=NS). However, at 5 years post-procedure, octogenarians had a significantly higher overall mortality than non-octogenarians (32% vs 17%, p=0.038).
Conclusions: Advanced age is not a contraindication to thoracic endografting with favorable short and mid-term outcomes compared to non-octogenarians.