Introduction

Some patients admitted as an emergency with a diagnosis of aortic aneurysm do not undergo surgery. The surgical team may judge that the likelihood of survival after operation is so low that the operation would be futile, or the patient may decide that they wish to receive supportive and palliative care only, in the knowledge that without operation death is inevitable for a patient with a ruptured aortic aneurysm. This chapter explores the characteristics of the patients in this study who did not undergo surgery.