Purpose: To report early rupture of a partially treated abdominal aortic aneurysm.
Case report: A 76-year-old man with a 6.4-cm abdominal aortic aneurysm had the main body of a bifurcated graft inserted into the aneurysm. However, it was not possible to cannulate the short cuff of the graft to deploy the contralateral limb, probably due to a proximal aortic stenosis compressing the stent-graft. The plan was for the patient to return on another date for a further attempt at recannulation; however, shortly after the patient was discharged, the aneurysm ruptured, necessitating conventional open repair, which the patient survived.
Conclusions: Every effort should be made to complete endovascular treatment of abdominal aortic aneurysms at a single session.