Abdominal aorta aneurysm

DEFINITIONS

Aneurysm is a protrusion (dilation, dilatation) on the walls of an artery.
Abdominal aorta aneurysm occurred in a part of the aorta that passes through the stomach.

This disease tends to occur in a family (inherited).
These aneurysms often occur in people with high blood pressure, size greater than 7.5 cm and can rupture. (Normal diameter of the aorta is 1,8-2,5 cm).

CAUSE

The cause is certainly not unknown, but risk factors of abdominal aortic aneurysm is atherosclerosis and hypertension.
Abdominal aortic aneurysm may be caused by:
- Infection
- Congenital abnormalities in the connective tissue that make up the arterial wall
- Trauma.

Abdominal aortic aneurysm can happen to anyone, but most often found in men aged 40-70 years.
In children, aneurysms can occur due to blunt abdominal injury or due marfan syndrome.

Frequent complication is aneurysm rupture that can cause bleeding into the abdominal cavity.Aneurysms that rupture is more frequently found in patients with aneurysms larger than 5 cm.

SYMPTOMS

Patients often feel the throbbing in his stomach.
Aneurysms can cause pain, especially in the form of a sharp pain in the back. Pain may be severe and usually permanent, but changes in body position can reduce this pain.

Early sign of aneurysm rupture is usually a tremendous pain in the lower abdomen and back and tenderness over the aneurysm.
In severe internal bleeding, the patient can fall into a state of shock.
Rupture of abdominal aneurysm is often fatal.

Diagnosis

Many patients who have no symptoms and is diagnosed at a routine physical examination or on X-ray examinations performed for other reasons.

On physical examination, the doctor can feel the throbbing mass at the midline of the abdomen.
Aneurysms that develop quickly and almost burst, often causing pain or tenderness when pressed.
In obese patients, often lebarpun aneurysms that could not be found.

Several laboratory tests can help make the diagnosis aneurysm:
- Photo abdominal X-rays can show an aneurysm that has calcium deposits on his wall
- Ultrasound can show clearly the size of the aneurysm
- CT scan performed after injection of dye intravenously, can accurately show the size and shape of aneurysm, but it is expensive
- MRI scan is an accurate examination, but it is expensive.

TREATMENT

Aneurysms Treatment depends on the size.
If the width is less than 5 cm, rarely broken, but if more than 6 cm wide, often broken.
Because the aneurysm was wider than 5 cm, performed the surgery.

Included on the transplant surgery to repair aneurysms synthetic.
The death rate for this surgery is 2%.

Aneurysms that rupture or threatened rupture, need to be addressed through emergency surgery.
The risk of death during a burst aneurysm surgery is 50%.

If an aneurysm rupture, kidneys have an increased risk for injury due to disruption of blood flow to the kidneys or from shock due to blood loss.
If post-operative kidney failure, patient survival is very slim.
Aneurysms that rupture and untreated, is always fatal.