Post-Endovascular Aneurysm Repair Patient Outcomes and Follow-Up Are Not Adversely Impacted by Long Travel Distance to Tertiary Vascular Surgery Centers

Background: To determine whether patient adherence to follow-up and patient outcomes after endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR) are affected by the distance between a patient's residence and a tertiary care treatment center. Methods: A retrospective review of 136 consecutive patients undergoing EVAR at the New Mexico Veterans Affairs Medical Center over a 7-year period was conducted. Patients were stratified as living within a 100-mi radius of the treatment center (group 1) and those living outside this radius (group 2). Follow-up included clinic visits and computed tomography scans at 1 month after discharge, every 6 months for 2 years, and then yearly. Incomplete follow-up was defined if two or more consecutive appointments were missed. Survival and graft-related complication rates were analyzed for both the patient groups. Results: Of the 136 patients, 10 patients died from nonaneurysm-related causes less than 1 year after their EVAR procedures, and hence were not a part of the study. Of the surviving patients, 44% lived within a 100-mi radius of the treatment center (group 1), and 56% outside this 100-mi radius (group 2). The mean patient follow-up time was 52.1 +/- 25.9 months. Of the surviving patients, 15% had inadequate follow-up, yet there was no significant difference in the adequacy of follow-up for patients in group 1 compared with group 2. The incidence of major complications, defined as aneurysm rupture, conversion to open repair, myocardial infarction, and stroke, was not statistically different in group 1 versus group 2 (5.0% vs. 11.8%, p = 0.23). Of the five patients (3.7%) who died as a result of abdominal aortic aneurysms related causes, three were in group 1 and two in group 2. Conclusions: Distance from a tertiary care center is not a limiting factor in patient adherence to follow-up, patient graft-related morbidity, or patient survival, likely because of the Albuquerque VA Medical Center's electronic tracking of patients and provision of travel vouchers.