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Background: Our objective is twofold: determining if simulation allows residents to reach proficient surgeons' performance concerning fundamental technical skills of endovascular surgery (FEVS) while investigating effects of the program on surgeons' stress., Methods: Using a FEVS training simulator, 8 endovascular FEVS were performed by vascular surgery residents (simulator-naive or simulator-experienced residents [SER]) and seniors. Total time needed to complete the 8 tasks, called total completion time (TCT), was the main evaluation criterion. Analgesia Nociception Index (ANI) was monitored during simulation. Likert scale questionnaire was filled out after each simulation., Results: For each task, TCT was significantly lower for SER and seniors than simulator-naive residents (P = 0.0163). After only 5 simulations, SER were able to reach and even exceed the seniors' level in terms of TCT, with a median time of 10.8 min for SER and 11.9 min for seniors, and wire's movements with a median distance during cannulation of 4.44 m for SER and 4.17 m for seniors. Seniors remained better than SER in terms of precise wire manipulation (wire movement after cannulation), 4.17 m against 4.44 m (3.72-5.96), respectively. Based on the Likert scale stress analysis, seniors felt less stressed than both residents' groups (P = 0.0618). Seniors' initial ANI and mean ANI over the session were significantly lower than those of the residents, P = 0.0358 and P = 0.0250, respectively., Conclusions: We showed that 5 simulation sessions allowed residents to reach experienced surgeons' capacities on FEVS concerning TCT. Subjectively, seniors felt less stressed than residents, contrary to the results of our objective measures of stress., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: A French intersociety consensus on behalf the Société Française de Médecine Vasculaire and the Société de Chirurgie Vasculaire et Endovasculaire was proposed in 2021 for the management of patients with lower extremity peripheral artery disease (LEAD). Recent studies have been published and an update of this consensus about the management of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDLc) and hypertriglyceridemia was required., Methods: A steering committee of 12 vascular physicians and surgeons defined questions of interest about LDLc and hypertriglyceridemia management. A French expert panel voted the proposals. Consensus was considered to have been achieved if more than 80% of the responses corresponded to either "Agreement" or "Disagreement"., Results: Among the 56 experts who were asked to participate, 46 (82%) accepted. After the first round of the Delphi procedure, the 4 proposals reached consensus. The following suggestions and recommendations were approved: 1. For LEAD patients treated by the highest tolerated statin dose ± ezetimibe and who have an LDLc ≥0.70 g/L, we recommend adding a proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 inhibitor. 2. For LEAD patients treated by statin and who have elevated triglyceride level between ≥150 mg/dL and ≤500 mg/dL, we suggest adding Icosapent Ethyl. 3. Before adding Icosapent Ethyl in LEAD patients treated with statin, we suggest looking for symptoms that may suggest atrial fibrillation. 4. For LEAD patients treated by Icosapent Ethyl and who have symptoms that suggest atrial fibrillation, we recommend performing an electrocardiogram., Conclusions: This update will help clinicians to improve LEAD patient management., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: To assess midterm results of physician-modified stent grafts (PMSG) for the treatment of emergent complex abdominal and thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysms (TAAA) in high-risk patients., Methods: All consecutive patients with emergent complex abdominal or TAAA undergoing PMSG technique between January 2012 and July 2019 were retrospectively included. Indications for PMSG were symptomatic aneurysms and rapidly growing aneurysms >70 mm. Ruptured aneurysms were excluded., Results: Thirty-three patients (mean age: 74 +/- 11 years) were included. The mean aneurysm diameter was 76 +- 20 mm. Patients presented with TAAA (n = 20, 61%), complex abdominal aortic aneurysms (CAAA, n = 9, 27%), type I endoleak after previous endovascular aneurysm repair (n = 3, 9%) and intramural aortic hematoma (n = 1, 3%). Chimney technique was performed in addition to PMSG in seven cases (21%). Intraoperative adverse events were recorded in seven cases (35%) in the TAAA group and one case (11%) in the CAAA group. In-hospital mortality rate was 15% (n = 3) in the TAAA group and 11% (n = 1) in the CAAA group. Moderate to severe complications were recorded in 45% of cases (n = 15). Spinal cord ischemia occurred in two cases (6%, one case without residual deficit and one with minor motor deficit). One (3%) patient required transient hemodialysis. One patient presented with early aortic rupture and required an open conversion. The mean follow-up duration was 31 months (1-79). Overall survival estimates were 81.4% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 63.1.-91.2) at 1 year and 71.6% (95% CI: 52.6-84.1) at 2 years. Freedom from reintervention rates at 1 and 2 years were 61.2% (95% CI: 41.7-75.9) and 57.4% (95% CI: 37.9-72.8). Target vessel primary patency rates at 1 and 2 years were 99.2% (95% CI: 94.2-99.9) and 97.7% (95% CI: 90.7-99.4)., Conclusions: PMSG for high-risk patients with complex aneurysms provided acceptable technical success and excellent target vessel patency rates but were associated with a 12% in-hospital mortality rate. Reinterventions were frequent. This technique should be limited to selected high-risk patients for whom the risk of rupture in the short-term is deemed too high to wait for graft manufacturing of custom-made device., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: To study the mortality and delays of management of patients with acute mesenteric ischemia (AMI) admitted to the emergency department of a tertiary hospital and identify risk factors for 1-month mortality., Methods: A single-center and retrospective study including all consecutive patients treated for AMI from January 2008 to December 2018 was conducted. Short- and medium-term survival was studied with a Kaplan-Meier analysis. Delays before diagnosis and surgical intervention were collected. To determine factors associated with mortality at 1 month postoperatively, univariate and multivariate analyzes were performed., Results: The survival rate of the 67 included patients was 55.22% at 1 month and 37.31% at 1 year. In-hospital mortality was 50.74%. The average delay between admission and diagnosis was 4.83 ± 5.03 hr (95% confidence interval [CI], 3.60-6.05), and the delay between admission and surgical treatment was 10.64 ± 8.80 hr (95% CI, 8.49-12.79). The independent variables associated with an increased mortality at 1 month postoperatively in the univariate analysis were age >65 years old (odds ratio [OR] = 3.52; P = 0.046), lactate >3.31 mmol/l at admission (H 0 ) (OR = 7.38; P < 0.001), lactate >3.32 mmol/l on day 1 (H 24 ) (OR = 5.60; P = 0.002), creatinine >95.9 μmol/l at H 0 (OR = 4.66; P = 0.004), aspartate aminotransferase (AST) >59 U/l at H 0 (OR = 3.55; P = 0.017), and having hypertension as comorbidity (OR = 9.32; P = 0.040). Early curative anticoagulation (z = -2.4; P = 0.016) was an independent protective factor for mortality, and lactate >3.31 mmol/l at H 0 (z = 2.62; P = 0.009) was an independent predictor factor of mortality at 1 month postoperatively in the multivariate analysis., Conclusion: AMI remains a serious and lethal condition with delays of surgical management remaining too long due to a lack of a dedicated therapeutic protocol allowing an early diagnosis., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Conventional open surgery is still important beside endovascular surgery in the management of abdominal aortic aneurysms, with less reinterventions in the long-term follow-up. Incisional hernias are the major complication open surgery in the mid- and long term. The occurrence of this late complication could be due to the choice of the incision, median or transverse. The objectives of our retrospective and bicentric study were to characterize the long-term risk factors for incisional hernias after open surgery for abdominal aortic aneurysms, in particular by comparing the 2 types of laparotomy, and to determine the prevalence of the operated and not operated incisional hernias., Materials and Methods: Between January 2009 and December 2011, all the patients having elective open surgery for abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) by midline laparotomy at the University hospital of Besancon or by transversal laparotomy at the University Hospital of Strasbourg were included retrospectively. The demographic data, the time of diagnosis of the incisional hernia and the parietal reinterventions were collected during a 5-year postoperative follow-up. A univariate and multivariate Cox model was used for the statistical analysis to determine the long-term risk factors for the appearance of an incisional hernia., Results: During the study period, 223 patients presenting with AAA were included, 112 of them were operated by a midline laparotomy and 111 by a transverse laparotomy. The mean age of the patients was 69 ± 8,4years and 208 (93.3%) were men. The 5-year prevalence of incisional hernias was 14.3% (32), and 20 of these hernias (9%) had to be operated. Eighteen hernias (16.1%) occurred after a midline laparotomy and 14 (12.6%) after a transverse incision (P = 0.30). In univariate analysis, obstructive chronic pulmonary disease was the only significant risk factor for incisional hernia (P = 0.01) and an age over 65 years appeared to protect against this risk (P = 0.049). These results were confirmed by multivariate analysis, which showed that obstructive chronic pulmonary disease was an independent risk factor for incisional hernia (HR = 2.35, 95% CI 1.16-4.75), and that an age over 65 years was a protective factor (HR = 0.49 95% IC 0.00-0.99)., Conclusions: The type of laparotomy did not modify the rate of incisional hernias. We showed that only 9% of the patients had to be operated to treat an incisional hernia during the first 5 years after surgery for AAA in our bicentric study. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease was the only independent risk factor for the occurrence of an incisional hernia., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Case Report: Classical surgical options for renal artery aneurysm (RAA) are usually restricted to endovascular surgery or open repair, either using an in-situ or ex-situ approach. A 45-year-old woman presenting with a 20-mm complex RAA with hilum location, not suitable for endovascular repair renal was treated with a mini-invasive robotic approach. This approach allowed an in-situ reconstruction in a complete mini-invasive manner with the Da Vinci Xi robot (Intuitive Surgical, Sunnyvale, CA). The robotic system was used for both surgical exposure and aneurysmectomy with patch closure. Clamping time was 38 minutes (warm ischemia), total operative time was 210 minutes., Liiterature Review: A comprehensive literature review was performed concerning the studies reporting a robotic approach for RAA. Main outcomes of interest were surgical technique, total operative time, clamping time, blood loss and postoperative renal function. Seven studies were identified, reporting a total of 20 RAAs. Most of the RAA were treated by aneurysmoraphy (n=9). Median total operative time varied between 228 and 300 min (range: 155 - 360 minutes), median clamping time varied between 26 and 44 minutes (range: 10 - 82 minutes). Median blood loss was comprised between100 and 150 mL (range: 25 - 650 mL). No alteration of renal function in the early post-operative period was reported., Conclusion: RAA in-situ repair with a robotic approach is feasible and safe and should be considered as an alternative to open surgical repair when endovascular technique cannot be an option., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Several international guidelines concerning lower extremity arterial disease (LEAD) have been published recently, in particular, by the American Heart Association the European Society of Cardiology/European Society for Vascular Surgery, the European Society for Vascular Medicine and the Society for Vascular Surgery. These guidelines differ in some respects and certain issues are not addressed. The objective of this consensus driven by the French Societies of vascular Medicine and surgery was to analyze the disparities between the different guidelines, as well as certain issues not covered, and develop proposals with regard to these points. The following fields of LEAD have been explored: 1) classifications, 2) clinical evaluation, 3) diagnostic criteria, 4) quantification of arterial stenosis using duplex ultrasound, 5) detection of asymptomatic multisite lesions, 6) screening for LEAD in the context of cardiac disease, 7) medical treatment, 8) supervised exercise therapy, 9) revascularization and revascularization of the internal artery stenosis, 10) management of chronic limb ischemia, 11) longitudinal follow-up, and 12) diet., (Copyright © 2020 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Sarcopenia is a factor of poor prognosis for patients with critical limb threatening ischemia (CLTI), but its diagnosis requires imaging measurements and is time consuming. We investigated whether preoperative platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) could be an easy and rapid marker of sarcopenia., Methods: Patients treated for CLTI between January 2019 and July 2019 were included in this single-center retrospective study. Sarcopenia was defined by a psoas muscle index (PMI) <5.5 cm 2 /m 2 in men, and <4.0 cm 2 /m 2 in women. PLR was calculated for all patients based on their systematic preoperative blood analysis. The diagnostic power of PLR was analyzed through a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. Early outcomes of sarcopenic patients in terms of 30-day mortality and 30-day morbidity were retrieved., Results: Sixty-four patients were included in the study: 48 nonsarcopenic patients (mean PMI 7.34 cm 2 /m 2 ; interquartile range [IQR] 6.58-8.01) and 16 sarcopenic patients (mean PMI 4.30 cm 2 /m 2 ; IQR 3.45-5.17). No difference was found between both groups regarding patient demographics, clinical characteristics, cardiovascular risk factors, comorbidities, or revascularization modalities. PLR was significantly higher in the sarcopenic group (mean 332.1; IQR 158.2-320.7) compared with the nonsarcopenic group (mean 204.6; IQR 133.8-265.6) (P = 0.02). A PLR value ≥292.5 was shown to be a diagnostic marker for sarcopenia based on the ROC curve (sensitivity 31.3%, specificity 91.7%). Thirty-day mortality was 12.5% in the sarcopenic group and 2.1% in the nonsarcopenic group (P = 0.15); 30-day morbidity was 56.3% in the sarcopenic group and 10.4% in the nonsarcopenic group (P < 0.001)., Conclusions: PLR might help identifying a subgroup of CTLI patients associated with poor prognosis but does not seem appropriate to be used as a marker of sarcopenia given its low sensitivity., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

We report the case of a 68-year-old man complaining of sudden intermittent claudication of the left limb. The patient was rapidly diagnosed with duplex ultrasound (DUS), computed tomography angiography, and magnetic resonance angiography as having a popliteal cyst (PC) compressing the popliteal artery, responsible for intermittent claudication. The patient underwent DUS-guided PC aspiration allowing symptoms resolution. However, he presented 3 recurrent ischemic syndromes from brutal claudication to more severe ischemia in a 3-month period, with increasing severity of the symptoms, treated with 3 DUS-guided PC aspirations. An extensive work-up excluded an atherosclerotic etiology. Consequently, due to increasing severity and quick recurrence of the symptoms and given the underlying knee osteoarthritis, the patient underwent radical treatment and got a total knee prosthetic replacement. One year later, follow-up was uneventful., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: No consensus exists on the optimal strategy for treatment of abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) associated with colorectal cancer (CRC). The purpose of this study was to evaluate the results of endovascular treatment of AAA with simultaneous resection of CRC., Methods: Twenty-two consecutive patients presenting with AAA associated with a CRC were treated by endovascular AAA exclusion and simultaneous CRC resection. Median diameter of the aneurysm was 6.5 cm (range, 4.8-8 cm). Two patients (9%) had grade I cancer, 5 patients (23%) grade II, 13 patients (59%) grade III, and 2 patients (9%) grade IV. The 2 surgical procedures were performed under the same general anesthesia. Aneurysm exclusion was achieved using an infrarenal aorto-bi-iliac endoprosthesis (13 patients) and using an aorto-bi-iliac endoprosthesis with suprarenal fixation (9 patients), with 1 patient receiving bilateral renal chimney stent implantation. In all cases, vascularization of the hypogastric arteries was preserved. After AAA exclusion, colic resection was carried out by laparotomy with right colectomy (7 patients) and anterior rectocolic resection (15 patients). In all patients, AAA exclusion was controlled by a computed tomographic angioscan (CTA) at 1 month and duplex ultrasound every 6 months, and at some later stage, it was through inclusion of CTA as part of oncology surveillance. The mean duration of follow-up was 42 months (10-120 months). The primary endpoint was composite and regrouped any death occurring during the first 30 days after procedures, any type I endoleak, any aortic reintervention, and any AAA-related mortality., Results: No patient died during the first 30 postoperative days, and no patient was lost to follow-up. No aortic endoprosthesis infection and no type I endoleak were observed. Five endoleaks arising from the lumbar arteries (n = 4) or from the inferior mesenteric artery (n = 1) were identified. As they were not associated with an increase of the AAA diameter >5 mm, they were not treated. 1 colic anastomotic leak and 2 incisional abscesses were successfully cured by local care only. Nine patients (41%) died of cancer evolution during the follow-up period., Conclusions: In this series, treatment of AAA and CRC during the same operative session yields results comparable to those observed when surgery is performed in 2 distinct operative sessions. Synchronous treatment reduced waiting time of colic resection. It may also shorten total hospitalization duration, although this last hypothesis is not supported by comparison with a control group., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

We report the case of a 71-year-old man complaining of swollen left limb and progressively worsening pain. He underwent surgery 12 years ago for popliteal artery aneurysm with proximal and distal ligation and venous bypass grafting. The patient was diagnosed as having left peroneal neuropathy caused by a 10.5 cm expanded aneurysmal sac compressing the peroneal nerve in the popliteal fossa. The patient underwent open repair with opening of the aneurysmal sac, removal of the thrombus, and sewing of the left genicular artery responsible for back-bleeding. Postoperative range of motion exercises and physical therapy allowed resolving foot drop 1 year after surgery., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Compliance is one of the mechanical features of a vascular prosthesis (VP) that influences its performances. The goal of the present in vitro study was to attempt characterizing textile VP compliance through mechanical tests proposed in the standards., Methods: Three different models of commercially available knitted VP (P1, P2, and P3) were studied using longitudinal and circumferential traction tests on coated and uncoated samples. Five samples of each model were considered for each test. The Young modulus was then calculated to indirectly predict the longitudinal and radial compliance of the VP. Moreover, actual compliance was measured on a specific device that regulates the intraluminal pressure of a fluid maintained in the tested VP at 37°C. VP dilatation under pressure load was measured with a digital camera system., Results: The Young modulus variations from one VP to the other were compared with the differences between effective compliance values at radial, longitudinal, and volume level. Although the presented results show differences among the VP, one can observe that the graft materials' Young modulus and the compliance properties are linked together in general., Conclusions: Although VPs are subjected to multidirectional stresses ex vivo, unidirectional standard mechanical tests, through the measurement of the materials Young modulus, can help predicting their compliance, however, in a limited frame., (Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Persistent sciatic artery (PSA) is a rare arterial embryologic malformation that tends to present early atherosclerotic degeneration such as aneurysmal formation. Open surgical treatment of PSA aneurysms has been considered as the gold standard but endovascular techniques have been recently proposed in the literature. We report the case of a 65-year-old man, diagnosed with a PSA aneurysm on peripheral thromboembolic complications. We achieved an endovascular repair with a covered stent. Despite an uneventful postoperative course, the covered stent demonstrated fracture and thrombosis 6 months after implantation without any symptoms., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: The aim of this study was to evaluate the quality of the current treatment of patients presenting with ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysms (RAAAs), from the first symptoms to the operating room with an analysis of preoperative mortality risk factors., Methods: For 3 years, in four vascular surgery departments, we have collected all the consecutive cases of patients operated on for RAAA. We analyzed the initial clinical situation, the means of transportation, the time elapsed before treatment, and the mortality rate at 3 days. Sixty-six RAAAs were operated on. Mean patient age was 76 years (range, 52-93 years)., Results: The initial symptoms were a precisely located pain either abdominal (45.3%), lumbar (17.2%), or both (14.1%) or feeling faint (10.9%). In 22.7% of the cases, an initial hemodynamic instability was observed. In 46.8% of the cases, patients first went to a peripheral hospital before being admitted into a referral centre. In 84.5% of the cases, medical mean of transportation was used. The mean distance covered was 59.8 kilometers (range, <5 km to 213 km). The initial diagnosis was accurate in 67.3% of the cases. The mean intrahospital waiting period between the arrival at a reference center and the admission into an operating room was 127 minutes. Global mortality rate was 44.2%. The main preoperative mortality factor to be noticed was the initial hemodynamic instability (p=0.0031). Among stable patients, only two of them (5.4%) worsened during the preoperative treatment., Conclusion: In our study, hemodynamic instability corresponds to the main prognosis factor of mortality. In most cases, the initial stability persisted and allowed additional evaluation. However, the intrahospital waiting periods appeared to be too long. To be optimal, the adequate treatment should be specifically designed as soon as a diagnosis has been established., (Copyright (c) 2010 Annals of Vascular Surgery Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

The outcome of conventional elective open repair for infrarenal abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) has improved mainly as a result of screening to detect coronary artery disease, the main risk factor for morbidity and mortality. Our group's policy is to perform routine coronary angiography in patients scheduled to undergo elective AAA repair. The purpose of this study was to evaluate morbidity and mortality in our department using this work-up strategy. From January 1990 to December 2000 we performed elective open repair on 632 patients, including 580 men (92%) and 52 women (8%). Preoperative coronary angiography performed in 607 cases (96%) revealed significant coronary disease in 53% of patients and led to the decision to propose prior myocardial revascularization in 12.5% of cases. Mortality and morbidity in the first 30 days after AAA repair were 1.4% and 15%, respectively. Analysis with the Cox model showed that the only risk factor for mortality was chronic renal insufficiency. Our data support routine use of coronary angiography prior to AAA repair. Screening and, if necessary, treatment of coronary artery disease that is commonly associated with AAA enhances the outcome of open AAA repair.

The purpose of this study was to develop a sealing technique for polyester prosthetic grafts able to promote healing and reduce intimal hyperplasia. The porcine experimental model was aortoiliac bypass with a 6-mm diameter knitted polyester prosthetic graft implanted for 14 and 90 days. Animals were divided into three groups according to sealing technique as follows: pre-clotting with blood (group I, n = 12), sealing with autologous fibrin glue (group II, n = 14), and sealing with autologous fibrin glue and bone marrow cells (group III, n = 16). Feasibility and quality of sealing were evaluated by scanning electron microscopy prior to implantation and by assessment of blood loss. After removal, prostheses were cut into three segments comprising the proximal anastomosis, midsection, and distal anastomosis. Pieces were fixed, embedded in paraffin, and serially sectioned for histologic study. Histological study focused on the degree of stenosis and hyperplasia of the neointima of each prosthesis. The results of this short-term study indicate that sealing of polyester vascular prosthetic grafts with autologous fibrin glue and bone marrow cells is effective in reducing intimal hyperplasia. However further study will be needed to assess long-term healing.

Impregnated polyester arterial prostheses have gained wide acceptance by most vascular surgery teams, probably because these prostheses are easy to use, without any preclotting. We offer here a synthesis of the main studies that have appraised the experimental and clinical performance of these prostheses, and we delineate their major prospects.

We retrospectively reviewed 290 cases in which an albumin-impregnated polyester prosthetic graft was used for surgical management of aortic bifurcation disease between November 1987 and December 1990. The purpose of this review was to determine the incidence and volume of blood transfusion and to evaluate the rate of patency and the incidence of infection achieved using this type of prosthesis. The indication for surgery was abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) in 218 cases (190 elective procedures and 28 emergency procedures) and occlusive disease of the aortic bifurcation (ODAB) in 72 cases. Mean follow-up was 25.5 +/- 13.4 months (range: 1 and 50 months). The incidence of blood transfusion for elective AAA and ODAB surgery was 30.2% and 32.3% intraoperatively, 21.3% and 12.9% postoperatively, and 40.4% and 42.6% overall. The mean number of red cell packs transfused for elective AAA and ODAB surgery was respectively 1 and 0.8 intraoperatively, 0.4 and 0.6 postoperatively, and 1.4 and 1 overall. No immediate or late graft infection prosthesis was observed in any patient in this series. Primary and secondary patency was 95.5% and 97.5% at 6 months with no graft thrombosis during further follow-up. The fact that use of an impregnated graft in management of aortic bifurcation disease was accompanied by a high incidence and volume of blood transfusion suggests that these grafts do not reduce perioperative blood loss. Use of an impregnated prosthesis had no effect on the rate of patency and the incidence infection.