Infections of the aorta and iliac arteries. Report of 20 years experience in a single centre

Aim: Retrospective review of aorto-iliac infections in a single vascular surgery center. Methods: From a retrospective review of their experience in the last 20 years, the authors analyze a series of 12 cases of aorto-iliac infection. Prognostic factors, surgical options and results are discussed and compared with the literature. Results: Infections of the aorta eventually associated with aneurysmal degeneration are uncommon (less than 3% of all aortic aneurysms) but still a life-threatening condition with high hospital mortality (25%). No statistical evaluation can be drawn from small series; however, early results are apparently influenced by emergency surgery and comorbidities affecting the immune response; in-situ reconstruction is associated with better long-term results (patency 100%, recurrent infection 0%). Conclusions: In our experience, in situ aortic grafting reconstruction associated with proper antibiotic therapy obtained satisfactory results in terms of mortality and long-term survival. Endovascular treatment can be adopted in critical patients with prohibitive surgical risk.