Vascular Surgery

BACKGROUND: Atherosclerosis in the superficial femoral artery is common in patients suffering from peripheral artery disease. Paclitaxel-eluting balloon (PEB) angioplasty, stenting, and directional atherectomy (DA) have provided new options for the treatment of superficial femoral artery disease; however, the comparative efficacy of these interventional strategies remains uncertain. METHODS: One hundred and fifty-five patients with symptomatic peripheral artery disease due to de novo superficial femoral artery stenotic or occlusive lesions were randomized to treatment with plain balloon angioplasty (BA) followed by PEB angioplasty and stenting (n=48), BA and stenting (n=52), or DA with distal protection and bailout stenting (n=55)...

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the outcomes of major vessel reconstruction as part of surgery to remove sarcomas. DESIGN: Retrospective review. SETTING: Tertiary academic medical center. PATIENTS: Fourteen patients (10 female) with retroperitoneal or extremity sarcomas and major blood vessel involvement who underwent surgery to remove the tumor and had blood vessel reconstruction between 2003 and 2008. Each patient underwent computed tomography angiography...

OBJECTIVES: The management of patients with splenic artery aneurysms (SAAs) is variable since the natural history of these aneurysms is poorly delineated. The objective of this study was to review our experience with open repair, endovascular therapy, and observation of SAAs over a 14-year interval. METHODS: Between January 1, 1996 and December 31, 2009, 128 patients with SAAs were evaluated. Sixty-two patients underwent surgical repair (n = 13) or endovascular coil/glue ablation (n = 49), while 66 patients underwent serial observation...

OBJECTIVE: True splenic artery aneurysms (SAAs) are a rare but potentially fatal pathology. For many years, open repair (OPEN) and conservative management (CONS) were the treatments of choice, but throughout the last decade endovascular repair (EV) has become increasingly used. The purpose of the present study was to perform a systematic review and meta-analysis evaluating the outcomes of the three major treatment modalities (OPEN, EV, and CONS) for the management of SAAs. METHODS: A systematic review of all studies describing the outcomes of SAAs treated with OPEN, EV, or CONS was performed using seven large medical databases...

OBJECTIVE: Contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) imaging is a powerful noninvasive modality offering numerous potential diagnostic and therapeutic applications in vascular medicine. CEUS imaging uses microbubble contrast agents composed of an encapsulating shell surrounding a gaseous core. These microbubbles act as nearly perfect intravascular reflectors of ultrasound energy and may be used to enhance the overall contrast and quality of ultrasound images. The purpose of this narrative review is to survey the current literature regarding CEUS imaging and discuss its diagnostic and therapeutic roles in current vascular and selected nonvascular applications...

OBJECTIVE: Dilatation of the aorta within the proximal neck after endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR) can be associated with late endoleaks and migration. This study was designed to identify predictors of early neck dilation in patients undergoing EVAR with Heli-FX EndoAnchors (Medtronic, Santa Rosa, Calif) measured perioperatively to 1 year at different longitudinal levels of neck length. METHODS: The study group of Aneurysm Treatment Using the Heli-FX Aortic Securement System (ANCHOR) comprises 257 consecutive patients prospectively enrolled between April 2012 and September 2014 undergoing EVAR with Heli-FX EndoAnchor implantation at 38 investigational sites...

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to assess 1-year safety, efficacy, and invasiveness outcomes of endovascular stent grafting of symptomatic long lesions (≥10 cm) in the superficial femoral artery (SFA) as a substitute for above-knee open bypass surgery. METHODS: This prospective, multicenter (15 hospitals) study assessed heparin-coated stent grafts for the treatment of long SFA lesions in Japanese subjects with peripheral arterial disease. Inclusion criteria were Rutherford category 2 to 5 symptoms (grade 5 without active infection), ankle-brachial index ≤0...

This review analyzed the incidence, mechanisms, and risk factors of aortic-related reintervention after endovascular repair of chronic dissections. The systematic review identified 28 studies describing 1,249 patients at median 27 months follow-up (range, 10.3 to 64.4). There were six reinterventions, 0.7 ruptures, and 1.2 surgical conversions per 100 patient-years of follow-up. Stent-related reinterventions were more frequent than nonstent related (80.2% vs 19.8%). Distal false lumen perfusion was the most common complication (40...

OBJECTIVE: Therapeutic anticoagulation (AC) is used clinically for prolongation of infrainguinal bypass patency, but evidence for the efficacy of this practice is conflicting. The objective of our study was to determine the association of AC with bypass graft primary patency. METHODS: Clinical and comorbid data of patients undergoing infrainguinal bypass grafts to a below-knee target with at least 1 year of follow-up performed from 2003 to 2015 were obtained from the Society for Vascular Surgery Vascular Quality Initiative...

OBJECTIVE: When a bypass fails, the options are lysis, redo bypass, or endovascular intervention. If lysis of the original bypass is not considered an option, which is better-redo bypass or attempts at endovascular recanalization of the native system? This retrospective study examined the outcomes of native superficial femoral artery (SFA) chronic total occlusion (CTO) recanalization compared with redo bypass after failed femoropopliteal bypass. METHODS: Patients presenting with a symptomatic failed femoropopliteal bypass that underwent attempted CTO endovascular (EV) recanalization of the native SFA or a redo femoropopliteal bypass (BP) from 2000 to 2015 were analyzed...

OBJECTIVE: This study evaluates the safety and efficacy of pre-placement of a distal bare stent as an adjunct to thoracic endovascular aortic repair (TEVAR) in the setting of complicated acute Stanford type B aortic dissection (cTBAD). METHODS: The records of all patients diagnosed with cTBAD at the institution between 2010 and 2013 were reviewed. Indications for the pre-placement of a distal bare stent included symptomatic malperfusion and/or radiological evidence of true lumen collapse...

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to assess factors influencing the clinical outcome and morphological changes of acute and chronic type B aortic dissection after thoracic endovascular aortic repair (TEVAR). BACKGROUND: Aortic remodeling after TEVAR may be associated with clinical outcome, complications, and endoleak development. METHODS: Sixty cases of TEVAR for complicated type B acute aortic dissection (AAD) (n = 29) and chronic aortic dissection (CAD) (n = 31) with a minimum follow-up of 3 years were retrospectively reviewed...

BACKGROUND: How to choose the proximal landing zone in endovascular interventions for a patient with a patent retrograde false lumen in dissection of the ascending aorta and aortic arch remains unclear. This study sought to report the safety and efficiency of inducing thrombosis of the retrograde false lumen to enhance a proximal landing zone to treat retrograde type A aortic dissection. METHODS: This study included 9 patients with retrograde type A aortic dissection treated with a 2-stage operation strategy between January 2015 and January 2016...

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to evaluate the risk of recurrent ischaemic stroke in patients with ultrasound assessed symptomatic mild carotid artery stenosis (20-49% NASCET) treated solely with modern medical treatment. METHOD: This was a retrospective, observational register cohort study. Three groups of patients were recruited from a database of all carotid Doppler ultrasound examinations performed in the Gothenburg region between 2004 and 2009. Patients with symptomatic mild carotid artery stenosis (n = 162) were compared with patients with asymptomatic carotid artery stenosis (n = 301) of equal degree and a group of patients with surgically (CEA) treated symptomatic moderate or severe carotid artery stenosis (n = 220)...

OBJECTIVE: One complication of autogenous arteriovenous fistula (AVF) for hemodialysis is the formation of a venous aneurysm (VA). The treatment of massive aneurysmal AVF generally involves ligation or resection with the use of prosthetic interposition. Partial aneurysmectomy, with or without reduction venoplasty, has been suggested to treat such a complicated AVF to maintain an all-autogenous access. The purpose of this study was to describe these procedures and examine their outcomes...

BACKGROUND: The impact of vascular injuries on patient mortality has not been well evaluated in multi-trauma patients. This study seeks to determine (1) whether the presence of vascular trauma negatively affects outcome compared with nonvascular trauma (NVT) and (2) the utility of existing severity scoring systems in predicting mortality among vascular trauma (VT) patients. METHODS: A retrospective review of our trauma database from January 2005 to December 2007 was conducted...

PURPOSE: This prospective observational study examined the effect of revision surgery in patients who present solely with complicated arteriovenous access (AVA)-related aneurysms. METHODS: The demographics and comorbid conditions of 44 hemodialysis access patients who presented with complicated true or false AVA-related aneurysms and underwent revision surgery during a 7-year period were prospectively entered into our AVA database. Also recorded were AVA characteristics before and after revision...

A metaanalysis of articles concerning the surgical management of acute traumatic rupture of the descending thoracic aorta published in the English-language literature between 1972 and July 1992 was performed. The overall mortality of 1,742 patients who arrived at the hospital alive was 32.0%, one-third died before surgical repair was started. Paraplegia was noted preoperatively in 2.6% of these hospitalized patients, and paraplegia complicated the surgical repair in 9.9% of 1,492 patients who reached the operating room in a relatively stable condition...

BACKGROUND: Direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) are used as an alternative for traditional antithrombotic therapy. However, the safety profile of DOACs in patients with renal failure (RF) has not been determined. METHODS: A systematic review was performed assessing the reported safety of DOACs compared with vitamin K antagonists (VKAs) in patients with RF and estimated creatinine clearance (eCrCL) < 50 mL/min and eCrCL 50 to 80 mL/min. MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane, and the Clinical Trials Registry (ClinicalTrials...

BACKGROUND: Apixaban, an oral factor Xa inhibitor administered in fixed doses, may simplify the treatment of venous thromboembolism. METHODS: In this randomized, double-blind study, we compared apixaban (at a dose of 10 mg twice daily for 7 days, followed by 5 mg twice daily for 6 months) with conventional therapy (subcutaneous enoxaparin, followed by warfarin) in 5395 patients with acute venous thromboembolism. The primary efficacy outcome was recurrent symptomatic venous thromboembolism or death related to venous thromboembolism...