Rupture of abdominal aortic aneurysm with tear of inferior vena cava in a patient with prior endograft

AbstractWe report a case of contained rupture of abdominal aortic aneurysm and tear of the inferior vena cava (IVC) 15 months after placement of an aortic endograft (ANEURX Graft, Medtronic, Sunnyvale, Calif). A 63-year-old man with significant coronary artery disease underwent endograft exclusion of abdominal aortic aneurysm with aneurx graft. The patient was seen with a rupture of the aortic aneurysm, probably caused by poor proximal fixation of the graft associated with separation of the left iliac extension limb from the main body of the graft. Angulated right iliac limb of the stent graft penetrated into the ivc just above the common iliac junction and caused sealed perforation. Successful repair with aortobiiliac graft reconstruction after removal of the endograft was accomplished. The IVC laceration was repaired. Possible mechanisms of failure of endograft are discussed. (J Vasc Surg 2002;35:798-800.