Medical therapy
Medical therapy of aortic aneurysms involves strict blood pressure control. This does not treat the aortic aneurysm per se, but control of hypertension within tight blood pressure parameters may decrease the rate of expansion of the aneurysm. The medical management of patients with aortic aneurysms, reserved for smaller aneurysms or frail patients, involves cessation of smoking, blood pressure control, use of statins and occasionally beta blockers. Ultrasound studies are obtained on a regular basis (i.e. every 6 or 12 months) to follow the size of the aneurysm. Despite optimal medical therapy, patients with large aneurysms are likely to have continued aneurysm growth and risk of aneurysm rupture without surgical repair. Surgery
Decisions about repairing an aortic aneurysm are based on the balance between the risk of aneurysm rupture without treatment versus the risks of the treatment itself. For example, a small aneurysm in an elderly patient with severe cardiovascular disease would not be repaired. The chance of the small aneurysm rupturing is overshadowed by the risk of cardiac complications from the procedure to repair the aneurysm. The risk of the repair procedure is two-fold. First, there is consideration of the risk of problems occurring during and immediately after the procedure itself ("peri-procedural" complications). Second, the effectiveness of the procedure must be taken into account, namely whether the procedure effectively protects the patient from aneurysm rupture over the long term, and whether the procedure is durable so that secondary procedures, with their attendant risks, are not necessary over the life of the patient.
Toxic anterior segment syndrome is an acute, sterile anterior segment inflammation following generally uneventful cataract and anterior segment surgery.One of the main factors in differentiating toxic anterior segment syndrome from an infectious endophthalmitis is the rapid onset. Most patients with toxic anterior segment syndrome will develop symptoms within 12 to 24 hours of the surgery. Common findings on anterior segment slit lamp examination include increased cell and flare with associated fibrin and possible hypopyon formation. Patients may show signs of diffuse corneal edema, and they may also show signs of iris atrophy with pupillary abnormalities and eventual increased intraocular pressure. It is important to differentiate sterile postoperative inflammation from infectious endophthalmitis because the treatments of these patients are markedly different. Patients with toxic anterior segment syndrome will often respond rapidly to treatment with topical corticosteroids, while infectious endophthalmitis must be treated with antibiotics. It is important that the patients be evaluated often to ensure that the inflammation is clearing and that the patients intraocular pressure is under control. The clearing of the inflammation and eventual patient outcome is related to the severity of the toxic insult at the time of surgery. Most patients reported to date are in the category of a moderate toxic inflammation. Toxic anterior segment syndrome may be related to problems with any irrigating solution or other solution placed in the patients eye during surgery, including balanced salt solution or anything added to solutions.