Perspectives in Vascular Surgery and Endovascular Therapy

Introduction. This study identified characteristics of patients with moderate internal carotid artery stenosis that are at increased risk for disease progression. Methods. Patients with asymptomatic moderate internal carotid disease correlating to 50% to 75% diameter reduction were followed for 3 years. Progression to greater than 75% diameter reduction or presentation with focal neurological symptoms was documented. Descriptive statistics and χ² testing provided statistical analysis. Results. During follow-up, 26 (9%) developed symptoms or had an asymptomatic increase in diameter reduction to >75%. The rate of disease progression and/or development of symptoms was 5.5% at 12 months and increased to 7.2% by 24 months. Comorbidities with the highest associated event incidences were coronary artery disease (8.1%), hyperlipidemia (7.3%), and hypertension (6.7%). Conclusion. Male patients with coronary artery disease, hyperlipidemia, and hypertension are at increased risk and are candidates for frequent screening and/or early intervention.

Acute mesenteric ischemia is an uncommon but highly complex clinical problem and carries a high mortality. Traditional treatment has yielded only modest improvements in mortality and an endovascular first treatment paradigm has been adopted by selected centers over the past decade. However, the technique does not allow for immediate assessment of intestinal viability and availability of the expertise and equipment is mostly limited to tertiary referral centers. Experience gained with endovascular treatment thus far suggests that careful patient selection, procedure planning, and meticulous technique are the key to further improving results. Most important, prolonged attempts at percutaneous intervention should not be allowed to delay laparotomy and bowel assessment. In patients requiring urgent laparotomy, intraoperative retrograde superior mesenteric artery recanalization remains an attractive option and should be given due consideration. Liberal use of second-look laparotomy is to be encouraged for continued bowel assessment and eventual reestablishment of bowel continuity. Early recognition of the problem with expeditious implementation of the appropriate treatment is likely to improve outcomes of this challenging problem in the future.

Type B aortic dissection is a rare, but deadly, disease process. Advances in endovascular therapy have provided alternative means for the management of aortic dissection. This comprehensive review examines the incidence, pathophysiology, presentation, diagnosis, risk factors, and management of type B aortic dissection, with an emphasis on endovascular intervention. Additionally, this review provides current information regarding the procedural outcomes, complications, mortality, and overall survival of endovascular versus conventional management of type B aortic dissections.

Hybrid approaches for repair of aneurysms involving the ascending aorta and the aortic arch have been developed to avoid or reduce duration of cardiopulmonary bypass and circulatory arrest and to decrease operative time, blood loss, hospital stay, morbidity, and mortality. These include ascending aorta–based debranching or cervical extra-anatomical bypasses followed by stent-grafting. In patients with associated descending aortic aneurysms, the elephant trunk technique is used followed by stent-grafting of the descending thoracic aorta. A review of the literature of hybrid aortic arch reconstructions, published over past 7 years, reveals perioperative mortalities from 0% to 13%, stroke from 0% to 10%, and spinal cord injury in 0% to 13%. The outcomes are comparable to contemporary results from total open and total endovascular reconstructions in spite of the fact that the hybrid approach is generally taken in patients with high surgical risk for open repair and with prohibitive anatomy for total endovascular repair.

We report the management of a patient presenting with haemoptysis due to aortobronchial fistula. He had previously undergone emergency exclusion bypass of a ruptured pseudoaneurysm developing post–aortic coarctation repair. Computed tomography scan showed persistent filling of pseudoaneurysm sac from proximal and distal aortic ligature sites tied during previous exclusion bypass surgery. Successful exclusion of aneurysm was achieved by using 3 vascular plug devices (1 Amplatzer plug II and 2 Amender patent ductus arteriosus occluder devices). We also review types of Amplatzer vascular plugs and their use in peripheral vascular interventions.

Inferior vena cava (IVC) filters are used to treat thromboembolic disease when there is a contraindication to anticoagulation or failure of therapeutic anticoagulation therapy. Although there are retrievable IVC filters available, permanent IVC filters remain the most commonly placed IVC filters worldwide. Permanent IVC filters have been associated with long-term complications such as IVC thrombosis and obstruction, migration, and erosion into surrounding structures. Such complications may require removal of permanent IVC filters, which has been previously described with open surgery involving venotomy of the IVC. We report a case of a Bard Simon Nitinol permanent IVC filter that was removed by using percutaneous endovascular techniques.

Congenital portosystemic venous shunt is extremely rare and should be treated. Advances in treatment techniques allow for patients to be treated safely. We present a 9-year-old boy with a large congenital portosystemic venous shunt. The shunt was occluded interventionally with the Amplatzer vascular plug II. Our case was unique with its clinical manifestation, the use of a 22-mm Amplatzer vascular plug II, and the presence of the patient’s 1-year follow-up.

Purpose. To report a case of a major vascular complication during transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) and the endovascular management thereof. Additionally, we discuss a possible correlation with long-term steroid use. Case Report. A 79-year-old woman with a history of critical aortic stenosis underwent elective TAVR. Her procedure was complicated by rupture of her right iliac artery, life-threatening retroperitoneal hemorrhage, and thrombus extending into the distal right lower extremity. This case was emergently managed by stent placement, thrombectomy, and tissue plasminogen activator via a percutaneous approach. Conclusions. Peripheral vascular complications are common during percutaneous TAVR, and chronic steroid use may predispose patients. Endovascular management is often possible and may potentially save valuable time in emergent situations.

We describe a simple technique we use in our institution during surgery for aortic aneurysms to reduce tension on the anastomosis when there is a discrepancy between the remnant portion of the native aorta and the vascular prosthesis.

Visceral arterial aneurysm and pseudoaneurysm are uncommon forms of vascular disease that have a significant potential for rupture or erosion into an adjacent viscera, resulting in life-threatening hemorrhage. Pseudoaneurysms related to the superior mesenteric artery are a recognized complication of trauma to the vessel, and successful treatment with stenting has been previously described. Percutaneous techniques offer an alternative form of therapy, and the number of reported cases treated with embolization has been rising steadily. We present the case of a 26-year-old patient with a large pseudoaneurysm of the superior mesenteric artery complicated with obstructive jaundice.

Osteochondromas are the most common benign tumors of the bone and are usually asymptomatic. In rare cases, they can present as a cause of lower extremity vascular injury in young patients. We report a case of a 24-year-old man who presented with an acute onset of exercise-induced lower extremity claudication and was found to have a popliteal artery occlusion secondary to a femoral exostosis. The patient underwent an excision of the exostosis and resection of the occluded segment with primary reanastomosis of the popliteal and superficial femoral arteries. Successful treatment of patients with vascular complications secondary to osteochondromas has generally required early surgical intervention.