Ischemic colitis after endovascular aortoiliac aneurysm repair: a 10-year retrospective study.

OBJECTIVE To examine the incidence, cause, and outcomes of ischemic colitis after endovascular stent graft repair of aortoiliac aneurysms (EVAR). DESIGN Medical record review. SETTING University teaching hospital. PATIENTS Eight hundred nine patients treated during 10 years were included in the study. Preoperative data regarding the size of the aneurysm, hypogastric coil embolization, and inferior mesenteric artery patency were evaluated by means of computed tomographic scans and aortograms. Ischemic colitis was diagnosed by lower endoscopy or pathology reports. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Ischemic colitis after EVAR. RESULTS Eleven patients (1.4%) developed ischemic colitis. Seven patients' episode occurred less than 30 days from repair (early), whereas 4 occurred 30 days or more from repair (late). Ten of 11 patients had preoperative inferior mesenteric artery occlusion. Microembolization was seen histologically in 2 patients in the early group, both of whom died. A significant increase in ischemic colitis was seen in patients undergoing preoperative unilateral hypogastric coil embolization (P = .02). Three of the patients with late ischemic colitis had comorbidities other than the EVAR to explain the ischemia. CONCLUSIONS The incidence of ischemic colitis is decreased in patients undergoing EVAR vs open repair. The cause of the ischemia is multifactorial and seems to differ between patients in the early and late groups. Microembolization tends to produce severe ischemic colitis and is usually fatal. There should be a low threshold for performing endoscopy in any patient thought to have ischemic colitis after EVAR.