Abdominal aortic aneurysm and the challenges of management in a developing country: a review of three cases.

There is an increase in the incidence of abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) over the last six decades, probably as a result of higher longevity and lifestyle changes witnessed in the years following World War II. Though earlier studies mainly from Southern Africa suggest abdominal aortic aneurysms as uncommon amongst black Africans, recent reports from Africa emphasized an increasing incidence of vascular diseases and its sequelae including AAA. There are, however, few documented case reports of AAA in our environment over the years suggesting the rarity of this disease. We report the management and outcome of three different types of infrarenal AAA with synthetic graft in a General Surgery Unit over a four-year period between 2001 and 2005. Follow-up evaluation confirmed a successful outcome in two patients. Abdominal aortic aneurysms may be occurring more frequently than reported in our environment and its management, using basic evaluation techniques, can be successfully achieved with reasonable outcome when performed in a non-specialized unit by General Surgeons in institutions with limited resources. Contrary to the popularly held view of rarity of AAA, the disease may be increasing in incidence amongst black African. Its evaluation and treatment is also feasible with the availability of reconstructive graft in a non-specialized surgical unit.