Question

What will be the appropriate management for Abdominal aortic aneurysm

• A. Monitor till size reaches 55 mm
• B. Immediate surgery
• C. USG monitoring till >70mm asymptomatic
• D. No treatment

Answer 1

The Correct Option is A

Risk trade-off: AAA management is a balance between the chance of rupture if you wait and the risk of dying on the table if you operate. Below 55 mm the rupture risk is small, so surveillance wins; at 55 mm and above the rupture risk overtakes the operative risk, so you repair.

Pick the cut-off option: Only option A states the correct 55 mm threshold with ultrasound follow-up below it, so it is the answer.

Reject the rest: Immediate surgery is for the symptomatic, fast-growing or ruptured aneurysm, not a quiet small one, so option B is wrong. Letting it grow past 70 mm before acting exposes the patient to a high rupture risk, so option C is unsafe. Doing nothing abandons a lesion that mandates monitoring, so option D is wrong.

Surveillance pearl: Smaller aneurysms get periodic ultrasound, and rapid growth, more than 1 cm per year, or new pain is itself an indication to repair early. Most repairs today are done by EVAR through the groin vessels.

Ref: Bailey and Love, Short Practice of Surgery, 27e, Pg 961.