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Background Percutaneous transluminal angioplasty and stenting in acute stroke due to severe basilar artery stenosis or basilar artery occlusion remain a matter of debate. The higher risk of stroke recurrence in patients with vertebrobasilar stenosis compared to anterior circulation atherosclerotic disease creates high expectations concerning endovascular approaches. This study aims to review our experience with percutaneous transluminal angioplasty and stenting in acute stroke caused by basilar artery steno-occlusive disease. Methods Our prospective database from June 2014 until December 2020 was screened and patients with acutely symptomatic severe (>80%) basilar artery stenosis or acute basilar artery occlusion who underwent percutaneous transluminal angioplasty and stenting were analysed. Results Twenty-five patients included: 72% men (mean age 68.6 years), all with prior modified Rankin Scale Conclusions Percutaneous transluminal angioplasty and stenting showed to be a technically feasible and reasonably safe procedure in selected patients. However, good clinical outcomes may be difficult to achieve as only 43.5% of the patients remained independent at 3 months. Randomized studies are needed to confirm the efficacy and safety outcomes of percutaneous transluminal angioplasty and stenting in acute stroke caused by basilar artery steno-occlusive disease.

To study the long-term outcomes in patients with occlusive Iliofemoral chronic venous insufficiency (CVI) of benign etiology treated by dedicated venous stents (Zilver Vena stents; Cook, Bloomington, Ind) placed at a single center.We performed retrospective analysis of prospectively collected data from 58 patients with symptomatic benign lower limb CVI during the period from January 2013 to October 2020. Patients underwent recanalization using Zilver Vena stents at Ain Shams University hospitals. We excluded patients requiring stenting after intervention for acute deep venous thrombosis, CVI due to malignancy or vascular malformations, previous ipsilateral venous interventions, or CVI due to nonobstructive pathology (reflux). Patients were clinically classified at enrollment by the clinical, etiology, anatomy, pathology class, venous disability score, and Villalta score. Primary, assisted primary, and secondary stent patency were assessed. Patients were followed clinically and by duplex, at 1, 3, 6, 12 months and annually for 5 years.There were 31 males and 27 females, with ages ranging between 25 and 60 years (mean, 43.84 years). All patients had post-thrombotic syndrome with a mean Villalta score of 16.8 (range, 10-31). Patients were treated with dedicated venous stents and had a median follow-up of 60 months. The median venous disability score was 3 at the start of the study with a significant decrease to 1 at 5-year follow-up (P .001). Twelve-month primary patency, assisted primary patency, and secondary patency were 91.4%, 96.6%, and 98.3%, respectively. At the 5-year follow-up, primary patency was 60.3%, assisted primary patency 65.5%, and secondary patency 81%. There were no instances of stent fracture, migration, or structural deformities.Treating iliofemoral venous occlusive disease with a dedicated venous stent is an excellent choice for patients with occlusive post-thrombotic syndrome. The technique has good 1-year and 5-year patency and is associated with significant clinical improvement and few complications.

The field of vascular surgery is constantly evolving and is unsurpassed in its innovation and adoption of new technologies. Endovascular therapy has fundamentally changed the treatment paradigms for aneurysm and occlusive disease. As we continue to make advances in not only endovascular therapy, but also robotic surgery, artificial intelligence, and minimally invasive surgery, it is important that the vascular community stay at the forefront. Topics include the advantages of laparoscopic and robotic surgery over open surgery for aortic procedures, robotic versus laparoscopic aortic surgery, patient candidacy for robotic-assisted aortic surgery, and how to increase training and adoption of robotic-assisted laparoscopic aortic surgery. Future growth includes the development of new platforms and technologies, creation and validation of curriculum and virtual simulators, and conduction of randomized clinical trials to determine the best applications of robotics in vascular surgery.

Purpose: We describe the feasibility and early results of iliac stenting using a physician-modified endograft (PMEG) to preserve a transplant renal artery in patient with iliac occlusive disease. Case Report: A 70-year-old male patient, with sub-occlusive left common iliac artery stenosis at the level of the transplanted kidney arterial anastomosis, presented with left critical limb ischemia (CLI) and pseudo-transplant renal artery stenosis (pseudo-TRAS) symptoms. He was treated with a physician-modified fenestrated covered stent introduced percutaneously via ipsilateral femoral artery after failure of simple angioplasty (percutaneous transluminal angioplasty, PTA). The modified graft was created by performing a square fenestration graftotomy on a Medtronic iliac limb stent graft (Medtronic Cardiovascular, Santa Rosa, CA, USA). The procedure was technically successful with no intraoperative complications. Procedural time was 110 minutes, including 35 minutes for device modification. On short-term follow-up, the patient had early improvement of renal function and resolution of CLI. The iliac and transplant renal artery remained patent with no sign of stent migration or kinking on 6 months surveillance computed tomography angiography and 1 year color Doppler ultrasonography. Conclusion: Use of PMEG to preserve visceral branches in occlusive iliac disease is a feasible endovascular technique with encouraging technical success and satisfying early results.

Aim: The aim of this study is to evaluate initial and short-term result of duplex guided angioplasty (DGA) for treatment of femoropopliteal arterial lesions. Methods: From October 2017 to September 2020, 50 limbs in 50 patients (30 males) underwent DGA in our institution. The study was conducted on patients suffered from chronic lower limb ischemia of grade IIb, III and IV (according to Fontaine Classifications) resulting from femoropopliteal lesions (occlusion or stenosis). Arterial access was done under duplex guidance followed by advancing a guidewire across the diseased femoropopliteal segment(s). The diseased segment(s) were then balloon-dilated. Intimal dissection or residual stenosis causing diameter reductions greater than 30% were stented with a self-expandable stent under duplex guidance. Completion duplex examinations and ankle brachial indices were obtained after the procedure. Results: The mean age of patients was 64 ±8 years. Critical ischemia was the indication in 44%, and disabling claudication was the indication in 6% of cases. Technical success was achieved in 46 cases (92%). 31 cases (62%) went through transluminal crossing of the lesions using duplex guidance alone, 11 cases (22%) went transluminally using duplex combined with contrast-free fluoroscopic assistance and 4 cases (8%) was subjected to subintimal angioplasty using combined techniques. Stenting was done in 24 cases (48%), 16 cases (32%) were having floating intimal flap; while the other 8 cases (16%) had residual stenosis > 30%. A primary patency rate of 92% was obtained by the end of the 12 months follow-up period. Conclusion: Duplex can be used as a first strategy for the treatment of femoropopliteal arterial diseases. However, the pitfalls in DGA technique make it insufficient to replace the classic fluoroscopy.

Purpose The gold standard for the treatment of complex (TASC II C and D) atherosclerotic aortoiliac lesions is still open surgical repair. Endovascular techniques have a lower mortality and morbidity rate but this comes at the cost of worse patency rates when compared with open repair. Improved short- and mid-term results have been reported using the covered endovascular reconstruction of aortic bifurcation (CERAB) technique. The aim of this study was to report our initial experience with the CERAB technique and report long-term patency rates. Materials and Methods All patients treated with the CERAB technique between 2012 and 2018 were prospectively registered in an institutional database and included in this study. Patient demographics, characteristics, symptoms, procedural, and follow-up details were collected and analyzed retrospectively. Perioperative complications and reinterventions were also identified. The Kaplan-Meier survival method was used to assess cumulative rates of patency. Results A total of 44 patients were treated with the CERAB technique and included in this study. The majority of the treated aortoiliac occlusions were classified as complex: TASC II C (n=7; 15.9%) or TASC II D (n=25; 56.8%). Primary patency rate at 60 months was 83.3%, assisted primary patency was 90.9% and secondary patency 95%. No significant differences were found in patency rates comparing noncomplex (TASC II A and B) and complex (TASC II C and D) aortoiliac lesions. Seven patients (15.9%) required at least one additional procedure to maintain either assisted primary patency or secondary patency during follow-up. The 30-day complication rate in this series was 20.5% (n=9), of which 55.6% (n=5) were minor complications. All major 30-day complications (n=4) occurred during or directly after the CERAB procedure. Thirty-day mortality was 0%. No limb occlusions occurred within 30 days of the procedure. Conclusion Good long-term patency rates can be achieved with the CERAB technique to treat aortoiliac stenosis or occlusions while maintaining advantages associated with endovascular interventions. This remains true even when a CERAB is used to treat complex aortoiliac lesions. An endo-first approach to treat complex aortoiliac lesions seems viable.

Background and aimThere is only a limited number of major publications on the outcome of interventions for isolated popliteal artery stenosis. The purpose of this study was to report our results on mid-term patency and predictors of restenosis.Patients and methodsThis single-center retrospective study included 61 symptomatic patients (males, N = 33; median age, 65.1 years [IQR, 60.7–71.9 years]; Rutherford grade 4–6, N = 14) with at least two patent crural arteries, whose atherosclerotic stenoses/occlusions were treated with percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA) or stenting (using self-expanding bare-metal Astron Pulsar stents) between 2011 and 2018.ResultsTwenty-six patients had PTA, while 35 underwent stenting. The median follow-up was 29 months (IQR, 10–47 months). The primary patency rates were not significantly different (P = 0.629) between PTA and stenting groups. Restenosis developed in nine patients (34.6%) in the PTA group, and in 12 (34.3%) in the stenting group. Restenotic lesions required re-intervention in nine cases (100%) in the PTA group, and in eight (66.7%) in the stenting group. Restenosis developed significantly less frequently (P = 0.010) in patients with a popliteal/P1 stent; the primary patency rates were also significantly better (P = 0.018) in patients with a popliteal/P1 stent when compared to popliteal/P2 plus multi-segment stents. Cox regression analysis identified lesion location as a predictor of in-stent restenosis (HR, 2.5; 95% CI, 1.2–5.5; P = 0.019).ConclusionStenting was not superior when compared to PTA (if selective stenting was not considered as loss of patency). Follow-up should be more thorough in patients undergoing popliteal/P2 or multi-segment stenting.

The choice of intervention for treating suprainguinal arterial disease, open bypass vs endovascular intervention, is often tempered by patient age and comorbidities. In the present study, we compared the association of patient age with 1-year major adverse limb events (MALE)-free survival and reintervention-free survival (RFS) rates among patients undergoing intervention for suprainguinal arterial disease.The Vascular Quality Initiative datasets for bypass and peripheral endovascular intervention (PVI; aorta and iliac only) were queried from 2010 to 2017. The patients were divided into two age groups: 60 and ≥60 years at the procedure. Age-stratified propensity matching of patients in bypass and endovascular procedure groups by demographic characteristics, comorbidities, and disease severity was used to identify the analysis samples. The 1-year MALE-free survival and RFS rates were compared using the log-rank test and Kaplan-Meier plots. Proportional hazard Cox regression was used to perform propensity score-adjusted comparisons of MALE-free survival and RFS.A total of 14,301 cases from the Vascular Quality Initiative datasets were included in the present study. Propensity matching led to 3062 cases in the ≥60-year group (1021 bypass; 2041 PVI) and 2548 cases in the 60-year group (1697 bypass; 851 PVI). In the crude comparison of the matched samples, the older patients undergoing bypass had had significantly greater in-hospital (4.6% vs 0.9%; P .001) and 1-year (10.5% vs 7.5%; P = .005) mortality compared with those who had undergone endovascular intervention. The rates of MALE (7.5% vs 14.3%; P .001) and reintervention (6.7% vs 12.7%; P .001) or death were significantly higher for the younger group undergoing PVI than bypass at 1 year. However, the rates of MALE (12.9% vs 14.3%; P = .298) and reintervention (12.7% vs 12.9%; P = .881) or death for were similar both procedures for the older group. Both log-rank analyses and the adjusted propensity score analyses of MALE-free survival and RFS in the two age groups confirmed these findings. The adjusted comparison of outcomes using propensity score matching favored PVI at 1-year survival (hazard ratio, 1.4; 95% confidence interval, 1.1-1.9; P = .003) for the older group but was not different for the younger group (hazard ratio, 0.6; 95% confidence interval, 0.3-1.0; P = .054).Among the patients aged 60 years undergoing intervention for suprainguinal arterial disease, the choice of therapy should be open surgical intervention given the higher risk of reintervention and MALE with endovascular intervention. Endovascular intervention should be favored for patients aged ≥60 years because of reduced perioperative mortality.

Objective: to evaluate the cost-benefit ratio of the use of invasive intraoperative hemodynamic control of peripheral blood flow during correction of multilevel lesions in chronic arterial occlusive disease of the lower extremities.Material and methods. We compared the cost of the in-hospital period of treatment among patients of 3 comparable groups: the patients of the first group underwent interventions under angiographic control, of the second — under invasive intraoperative hemodynamic control of the state of peripheral blood flow in addition to angiography, and in the patients of the third group invasive hemodynamic control of the state of peripheral blood flow was followed by pharmacological tests.Results. The use of the given method made it possible to correct the extent of the performed procedures of revascularization and to estimate the efficiency of the phases of the operation in real time. The result of interventions in the groups with hemodynamic control was a reliable increase of the ankle-brachial index (ABI index) values (p — 00001) in shorter length of segments after revascularization (p — 0.05). At the same time, the reduced extent of the correction resulted in saving 807 BYN per case.Conclusion. The use of invasive intraoperative hemodynamic control allows of reducing the extent of the reconstruction in multisegment lesions with the achievement of satisfactory clinical outcomes with lesser economic costs.

Background Patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) have a more extensive distal arterial occlusive disease compared to non-diabetic patients. Diagnostic imaging is a necessity to identify the location and extent of the arterial occlusion in acute limb ischemia (ALI). Computed tomography angiography (CTA) is the most commonly used modality and the diagnostic performance with CTA of calf arteries may be questioned. Purpose To evaluate diagnostic performance of CTA of calf arteries in ALI and to compare patients with and without DM. Material and Methods All thrombolytic treatments performed during 2001–2018 in patients with ALI were included. Initial digital subtraction angiography (DSA) and CTA of all patients were classified according to the Inter-Society Consensus for the Management of Peripheral Arterial Disease (TASC II) below-the-knee arteries and compared to CTA. Two raters assessed the CTA images independently. Inter-rater reliability was expressed as intraclass correlation (ICC) with 95% confidence intervals (CI). Results Patients with (n = 23) and without (n = 85) DM had lower ( P = 0.006) glomerular filtration rate. ICC between CTA and DSA was 0.33 (95% CI –0.22 to 0.56) and 0.71 (95% CI 0.38–0.68) in patients with and without DM, respectively. Sensitivity with CTA for TASC D lesions in patients with and without DM was 0.14 (95% CI –0.12 to 0.40) and 0.64 (95% CI 0.48–0.80), respectively. Conclusion The sensitivity of CTA for assessment of infra-popliteal TASC D lesions in patients with ALI was not acceptable in patients with DM in contrast to those without DM. Another imaging option at present times should be considered for patients with DM.

Purpose: The performance of sirolimus-coated devices has not been studied in patients with chronic limb-threatening ischemia patients. PRESTIGE aims to investigate the 6-month efficacy and safety profile of the Selution Sustained Limus Release (SLR) sirolimus-eluting balloon for treatment of TASC II C and D tibial occlusive lesions in patients with CLTI. Materials and Methods: PRESTIGE is a pilot prospective, nonrandomized, single-arm, multi-investigator, single-center clinical study. Endpoints were adverse event-free survival at 1 month, technical success rate, primary tibial patency at 6 months, limb salvage success, target lesion revascularization (TLR), and amputation free survival (AFS). Results: A total of 25 patients were included. There were 17 (68.0%) males; mean age, 63.7±9.73 years. CLTI severity was based on the Rutherford scale (R5=25/25; 100.0%). Significant comorbidities included diabetes mellitus (n=22; 88.0%) and end-stage renal failure (n=11; 44.0%). A total of 33 atherosclerotic lesions were treated (TASC II D=15 (45.5%)). Mean lesion length treated was 191±111 mm. Technical success was 100%. Primary tibial patency at 6 months was 22/27 (81.5%) and freedom from clinically driven TLR was 25/30 (83.3%). AFS was 21/25 (84.0%; 3 deaths and 1 major lower extremity amputation). Mean Rutherford score improved from 5.00 at baseline to 1.14±2.10 (pConclusions: Selution SLR drug-eluting balloon is a safe and efficacious modality in treating complex tibial arterial occlusive lesions in what is an otherwise frail cohort of CLTI patients, with a high prevalence of diabetes and end-stage renal failure. Technical and clinical success rates are high and 6-month target lesion patency and AFS are more than satisfactory.

Background Endovascular management of isolated profunda femoris artery occlusive disease has not been well studied. Our aim is to analyze the outcomes of endovascular management of profunda artery occlusive disease. Methods This is a retrospective analysis using data from the Vascular Quality Initiative. All patients from 2013 to 2018 treated percutaneously for isolated profunda artery occlusive disease were included. Endovascular treatment included plain balloon alone, stent, stent graft, atherectomy, and drug-coated balloon without any concomitant endovascular or surgical treatment. Demographic, procedural, and follow-up data were obtained. Primary end points were primary patency, improvement of symptoms, and need for reintervention. Univariate and multivariable analysis was used to assess for significant variables. Results Of the 105,568 lower extremity endovascular interventions performed during this time period, there were 361 procedures (0.3%) performed on 341 patients for isolated profunda artery occlusive disease. The average age of these patients was 67.8 years (+/− 11.8), with 59.8% being men. The most common indication for treatment of the profunda artery was claudication (44.8%), followed by tissue loss (28.5%) and rest pain (26.0%). The most common treatment modality was plain balloon (58.5%), followed by stent (18.6%), drug-coated balloon (10.0%), atherectomy (9.4%), and stent graft (3.6%). At a mean follow-up of 13 months (+/−4.6), data were available for 238 patients (69.7%). Overall primary patency at 13 months was 92.9%. There was no significant difference in terms of patency for each treatment modality (Table I). Preoperative ambulatory status, aspirin, and statin were significantly associated with patency. At most recent follow-up, 67% of patients had improvement of their symptoms, whereas 29% were unchanged. Reintervention data were available for 247 patients, with a reintervention rate of 15.8% (n = 39) and a mean reintervention time of 226 days (+/− 173), with the majority of reinterventions (62%) occurring in the plain balloon group. Reinterventions were primarily endovascular (64%) with 9 patients (23%) undergoing surgical reintervention. Conclusions Endovascular management of profunda femoris artery occlusive disease has acceptable one-year patency rates with low reintervention rates. Endovascular treatment may be an acceptable alternative to selected patients who are high-risk for surgery.

Background There is a paucity of literature describing the recovery trajectory after surgery for upper extremity ischemia. Using Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) Physical Function (PF), Upper Extremity (UE), Pain Interference (PI), and Depression domains, we aimed to describe the postoperative recovery of such patients. Methods We queried our PROMIS database for patients undergoing surgery for vasospastic or occlusive disease over a 4.5-year period. Inclusion criteria were preoperative, early (average 3 weeks) and late (average 6 months) postoperative PROMIS PF and/or UE, PI, and Depression scores. The change in PROMIS scores was calculated for each time point. Changes in PROMIS scores were compared with minimal clinically important difference estimates. Results We identified 13 patients undergoing 13 surgical interventions that met inclusion criteria. More than one-half of our patients were men (n = 7 [54%]), and more than one-half of the surgeries (n = 7 [54%]) were for isolated occlusive diagnoses, with the remainder for vasospastic disease. At short-term postoperative follow-up, the change in PROMIS PF, UE, PI, and Depression scores was −6.34 (SD: 9.13), −6.81 (SD: 9.61), 3.16 (SD: 5.78), and −3.05 (SD: 8.37), respectively. At mid-term postoperative follow-up, the change in PROMIS PF, UE, PI, and Depression scores was 4.45 (SD: 10.33), 8.04 (SD: 13.84), −7.03 (SD: 7.06), and −12.27 (SD: 10.85), respectively. Conclusions Our findings suggest patients undergoing surgical treatment for upper extremity ischemia experience a worsening of functional symptoms initially, as expected, followed by notable improvement.

Bare-metal stents (BMSs) have been generally applied for the treatment of peripheral artery disease in patients with femoropopliteal disease. However, very long-term pathological findings after BMS implantation have not been elucidated to date. We experienced an autopsy case in which we performed a pathological evaluation 18 years after BMS implantation in the right superficial femoral artery. The BMS was totally occluded and filled with remarkable neointima formation. Neointima was mainly composed of a lot of rather atrophic smooth muscles and intercellular spaces containing dense collagenous fibers. Furthermore, regional fatty infiltration was also observed, but inflammatory cell infiltration, such as macrophages and lymphocytes, was not recognized obviously even around the struts. Judging from the pathological findings, the main mechanism of the very long-term in-stent restenosis in the patients with femoropopliteal disease was continuous proliferation of smooth muscle cells that led to the totally occlusive disease. This observation leads us to speculate that continuous elution of an anti-proliferating drug over a longer duration, at least beyond 1 year, would be effective to prevent chronic-phase restenosis. Further development of devices that can be used in the femoropopliteal artery is needed in light of this speculation.

Background We present early and mid-term clinical outcomes of endovascular revascularization for femoropopliteal involvement of peripheral arterial disease. Methods A total of 128 patients (113 males, 15 females; mean age: 63.4±9.9 years; range, 32 to 87 years) who underwent percutaneous transluminal angioplasty for femoropopliteal lesions between August 2016 and April 2018 were analyzed retrospectively. Treatment with Luminor® paclitaxel-coated drug-eluting balloon catheter or bailout therapy with iVolution® self-expanding nitinol stent were performed. Overall patency rates and freedom from reintervention rates were analyzed using the Kaplan-Meier analysis. The primary patency and freedom from reintervention to target lesion rates at 12 and 24 months were evaluated. Results Technical success was achieved in 133 (93%) of the interventions with a median follow-up of 11 (range, 1 to 35) months. At 12 and 24 months, the mean overall patency rates were 85.6±3.7% and 66.8±6.7%, respectively and the mean freedom from reintervention to target lesion rates were 91.6±2.9% and 78.1±6.3%, respectively. The primary patency and freedom from reintervention to target lesion rates were significantly higher in the bailout stenting group than the drug-eluting balloon group at 12 months (97.3±2.7% vs. 94.8±6.1%, respectively, p=0.025 and 97.1±2.9% vs. 84.2±5.5%, respectively, p=0.005) and at 24 months (76.9±7.9% vs. 55.8±13.4%, respectively, p=0.025 and 85.2±7.0% vs. 70.2±13.6%, respectively, p=0.005). Conclusion Endovascular procedures including drug-eluting balloon and bailout stenting seem to be effective alternative treatment modalities for treatment of infrainguinal peripheral arterial disease and can be also used in patients with long lesions and/or total occlusion of femoropopliteal arteries.

Carotid Artery Occlusive Disease or Carotid Artery Stenosis (CAS), a widely prevalent disease, involves blockage of the arterial wall through atherosclerotic plaques. Due to the high prevalence of carotid artery stenosis, innovative approaches to improve the outcome are required, particularly for more difficult and unique cases. Within this report, we present a particularly difficult case of Type III Aortic Arch – Right Internal Carotid Artery (ICA) stenosis making it a challenging case. We describe a symptomatic 87-year-old male who presented to Cardiology clinic. CT angiogram showed 70% occlusion of right internal carotid artery and patient was deemed high risk for carotid artery surgery; hence, the patient underwent internal carotid artery stenting. After the procedure, angiogram results were excellent, and the patient was transferred to CICU in stable hemodynamic condition. This case demonstrates the significance of innovative new techniques in the development of medical treatment. Keywords: Carotid Artery Stenting, Curve Sheath Technique, Type 3 Aortic Arch, Right Internal Carotid Artery Stenosis

Összefoglaló. Bevezetés: A diffúz aortobiiliacalis érszakasz occlusiv betegségének kezelésére alkalmazott aortobifemoralis bypass szerepe csökken az endovascularis műtétek térnyerése miatt. Célkitűzés: A vizsgálat célja volt a modern invazív kezelés korszakában a perioperatív és a hosszú távú eredmények elemzése aortobiiliacalis bypass után, melyek összehasonlíthatók az endovascularis megoldások eredményeivel. Módszerek: A retrospektív, egycentrumú vizsgálat során a Semmelweis Egyetem Városmajori Szív- és Érgyógyászati Klinikájának Érsebészeti és Endovaszkuláris Tanszékén 2006. 01. 01. és 2017. 12. 31. között occlusiv aortoiliacalis atherosclerosis miatt primer aortobifemoralis bypass műtéten átesett 419 beteg (átlagéletkor: 62,2 év, SD: ± 8,22; 224 férfi, 53%) adatait elemeztük. Eredmények: A posztoperatív 30 napon belüli mortalitás 5,01%, a késői mortalitás 10,98% és 29,59% volt 12, illetve 60 hónap után. A betegek 12,57%-ánál történt korai reoperáció, késői reoperáció 32 (8%) betegnél vált szükségessé. A graft elsődleges nyitva maradása 88,65% és 81,15% volt 12, illetve 60 hónap után. 21 betegnél történt amputáció (6,29%); 57,14%-ban femoralis, 35,71%-ban cruralis szinten, 7,14%-ban a boka szintje alatt. Az amputációkra 35,71%-ban a bypasst követő 30 napon belül, további 35,71%-ban 2 éven belül került sor. Az esetek 35,63%-ában lépett fel egyéb szövődmény; a leggyakoribbak: műtétet igénylő posztoperatív hernia (6,89%), cardiovascularis szövődmény (4,19%), lágyéki nyirokcsorgás vagy sebgyógyulási zavar (4,79%). Következtetés: Eredményeink alapján e betegcsoportban az aortobifemoralis bypass elfogadható, de nem jelentéktelen perioperatív halálozással és magas morbiditással jár. A graft hosszú távú nyitva maradása jó, de az újabb érműtét mind rövid, mind hosszú távon relatíve gyakori. A kevésbé invazív technikák eredményeinek összehasonlítása indokolt a hosszú szakaszú (TASC C, D) elváltozások esetén. Orv Hetil. 2021; 162(3): 99–105. Summary. Introduction: The role of aorto-bifemoral bypass in the treatment of diffuse aorto-biiliac occlusive disease decreases in the era of endovascular surgery. Objective: The aim of the study was to analyse the early and long-term postoperative results of aorto-bifemoral bypass in a recent time period. These results may be used as a baseline to compare the results of endovascular procedures. Methods: In a retrospective, single-center study, the data of 419 patients (mean age: 62.2 years, SD: ± 8.22; 224 men, 53%) who underwent primary aorto-bifemoral bypass due to occlusive aorto-iliac atherosclerosis from 01. 01. 2006 to 31. 12. 2017 at the Department of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery of Semmelweis University Heart and Vascular Center were analysed. Results: Postoperative mortality within 30 days was 5.01%, late mortality was 10.98% and 29.59% after 12 and 60 months, respectively. 12.57% of the patients needed early reoperation and late reoperation was required in 32 cases (8%). The primary graft patency was 88.65% and 81.15% after 12 and 60 months, respectively. 21 patients underwent amputation (6.29%); 57.14% at the femoral level, 35.71% at the crural level and 7.14% below the ankle level. Amputations were performed in 35.71% of the cases within 30 days after the bypass and an additional 35.71% within 2 years. Other complications occurred in 35.63% of the cases; the most common causes were postoperative hernia requiring surgery (6.89%), cardiovascular complication (4.19%) and inguinal wound healing disorders (4.79%). Conclusion: Based on our results, aorto-bifemoral bypass surgery is associated with acceptable but not insignificant perioperative mortality and high morbidity in this group of patients. The graft patency is favourable in the long term, however, additional vascular reintervention is common in short and long term as well. Short- and long-term results of percutaneous endovascular techniques in diffuse aorto-biiliac disease (TASC C and D lesions) are suggested to be compared to these recent results of open surgery. Orv Hetil. 2021; 162(3): 99–105.

Background Peripheral vascular devices (stents and balloons) coated with paclitaxel were developed to address suboptimal outcomes associated with percutaneous revascularization procedures of the femoral-popliteal arteries. In randomized controlled trials (RCT), paclitaxel-coated devices (PCD) provided increased long-term patency and a decreased need for repeat revascularization procedures compared with uncoated devices. This finding resulted in the adoption of their use for endovascular lower extremity revascularization procedures. However, in late 2018 a study-level meta-analysis showed increased all-cause mortality at 2 years or more after the procedure in patients treated with PCDs. This review examines the subsequent data evaluation following the publication of the meta-analysis. Methods We review the published responses of physicians, regulatory agencies, and patient advocates during 15-month period after the meta-analysis. We present the additional data gathered from RCTs that comprised the meta-analysis and safety outcomes from large insurance databases in both the United States and Europe. Results Immediately after the publication of the meta-analysis, concern for patient safety resulted in less PCD use, the suspension of large RCTs evaluating their use, and the publication of a letter from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration informing physicians that there was uncertainty in the benefit-risk profile of these devices for indicated patients and that the potential risk should be assessed before the use of PCDs. Review of the meta-analysis found that a mortality signal was present, but criticisms included that the evaluation was performed on study-level, not patient-level data, and the studies in the analysis were heterogenous in device type, paclitaxel doses, and patient characteristics. Further, the studies were not designed to be pooled nor were they powered for evaluating long-term safety. Clinical characteristics associated with a drug effect or causal relationship were also absent. Specifically, there was no dose response, no clustering of causes of death, and a lack of signal consistency across geographic regions. As more long-term data became available in the RCTs the strength of the mortality signal diminished and analysis of real-world use in large insurance databases, showed that there was no significant increase in all-cause mortality associated with PCD use. Conclusions The available data do not provide definitive proof for increased mortality with PCD use. A key observation is that trial design improvements will be necessary to better evaluate the risk-benefit profile of PCDs.

Summary: Intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) has been used extensively in coronary applications. Its use in venous applications has increased as endovascular therapy has increasingly become the mainstay therapy for central venous diseases. IVUS has been used for both diagnostic and therapeutic purposes in managing venous stenotic disease, venous occlusive disease, and IVC filter placement and removal. IVUS has been proven to be effective in providing detailed measurement of the venous anatomy, which aid in determining the appropriate size and the approach for venous stent placement. In IVC filter placement, IVUS can provide detailed measurement and guide IVC filter placement in emergent and critical care settings. It also has certain utility in filter removal. At any rate, to date there are only a few studies examining its impact on patient outcomes. Prospective randomized controlled trials are warranted in the future.

This study compared rates of procedural success and complications between de novo cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) implantation versus upgrade, including characterization of technical challenges.CRT upgrade is common, but data are limited on the incidence of procedural success and complications as compared to de novo implantation.All patients who underwent a transvenous CRT procedure at a single institution between 2013 and 2018 were reviewed for procedure outcome, 90-day complications, reasons for unsuccessful left ventricular lead delivery, and the presence of venous occlusive disease (VOD) that required a modified implantation technique.Among 1,496 patients, 947 (63%) underwent de novo implantation and 549 (37%) underwent device upgrade. Patients who received a device upgrade were older (70 ± 12 years vs. 68 ± 13 years; p 0.01), with a male predominance (75% vs. 66%; p 0.01) and greater prevalence of comorbidities. There was no difference in the rate of procedural success between de novo and upgrade CRT procedures (97% vs. 96%; p = 0.28) or 90-day complications (5.1% vs. 4.6%; p = 0.70). VOD was present in 23% of patients who received a device upgrade and was more common among patients with a dual-chamber versus a single-chamber device (26% vs. 9%; p 0.001). Patients with and without VOD had a similar composite outcome of procedural failure or complication (8.0% vs. 7.8%; p = 1.0).Rates of procedural success and complications were no different between de novo CRT implantations and upgrades. VOD frequently increased procedural complexity in upgrades, but alternative management strategies resulted in similar outcomes. Routine venography before CRT upgrade may aid in procedural planning and execution of these strategies.

Background: Diabetes carries a two-fold risk of Sudden Cardiac Death (SCD). Diabetic Autonomic Neuropathy (DAN), often progressing to Cardiovascular Autonomic Neuropathy (CAN, critically low parasympathetic tone [P]), increases death 3.5-fold over 5 years, half sudden or non- renal. Oxidative stress is a major cause of DAN. Also, increased sympathetic tone (S), High Sympathovagal Balance [SB>2.5] increases SCD risk. Objective: Dysautonomic diabetic II patients were treated with the antioxidant (r) Alpha Lipoic Acid (ALA), autonomic function followed, and Sudden Death (SD) compared to untreated patients. Methods: 133 patients (mean age 66y/o) with DAN or CAN, diagnosed using the ANX 3.0 Autonomic Monitor (Physio PS, Inc., Atlanta, GA) was offered (r)-ALA: 83 agreed (Group 1), and 50 refused (Group 2). P and S were re- measured up to 3 times/yr (mean f/u 6.31 yrs); SCDs were recorded. Results: A 43% Relative Risk Reduction (RRR) in SCD occurred with (r)- ALA (25% SCD Group 1 vs. 44% SCD Group 2, p=0.0076). Initial to final patients with high SB or CAN were 21.7%-12% (p=0.010), 10.8%- 15.7% (p=0.045), Group 1 vs. 24%-22% (p=ns), 6%-12% (p=0.083), Group 2. Only Group 1 survivors increased mean resting P. The progressive increase in P’s decline, increasing CAN risk, in the other patients correlated with mortality (p

Summary: Background: The aim was to evaluate the safety and efficacy of a high pressure, non-compliant balloon in the treatment of infrapopliteal occlusive disease in Asian patients with chronic limb threatening ischaemia (CLTI) from Singapore. Patients and methods: Prospective, multi-centre, single arm, non-randomized study. Immediate technical success, 6-month primary vessel patency (determined by Duplex ultrasonography), limb salvage, one-year clinically driven target lesion re-intervention (TLR) and amputation free survival (AFS) were the efficacy endpoints of interest. Results: 86 patients (63% males, mean age 68.9 ± 9.9 years) were enrolled over a 15-month period. Diabetes mellitus (DM) and end-stage renal failure (ESRF) were present in 94% and 38% of patients respectively. All had some degree of tissue loss at baseline (Rutherford scale 5 and 6 = 91% and 9% respectively). Of the 86 legs, 72% had 3 crural vessel disease and 84% had moderate/severe vessel wall calcification. 90% had > = 1 TASC D tibial lesion. Acute technical success was 89%. One month mortality was 3.5% and one-year freedom from TLR was 91%. 6-month tibial patency was 73%. 54/66 (82%) patients had at least one target treated tibial artery open at 6 months. A lower baseline toe pressure (OR 1.03, 95%CI 1.00–1.05) and elastic recoil post angioplasty (OR 0.20, 95%CI 0.05–0.79) were associated with a worse 6 month tibial patency. One-year AFS was 67%. 47/66 (71%) patients had a clinical improvement of at least one Rutherford class at 6 months and 52/59 (88%) experienced complete wound healing at 12 months. Conclusions: Use of a high pressure non-compliant balloon is safe and efficacious in treating highly complex infra-popliteal atherosclerotic lesions in an otherwise challenging population of CLTI patients with a high incidence of DM and ESRF. It is associated with highly satisfactory acute technical success, 6-month target lesion patency and one-year limb salvage.

Endovascular treatment of complex aortoiliac occlusive disease had been adopted widely and now rivals open reconstruction. The most important aspect of aortoiliac revascularization is to anticipate and to avoid complications via careful preoperative planning. However, despite appropriate planning, complications will occur and, in that event, timely and appropriate management can minimize adverse outcomes.

Peripheral artery disease (PAD) is a chronic occlusive disease of arteries in the lower extremity due to atheroscle- rosis. PAD can lead to intermittent claudication, which is weakness or pain with walking alleviated with rest. Until now, the awareness of the public and medical personnel regarding PAD is still not as high as the alertness of coronary disorders. This editorial will focus on diagnosing and treating PAD focused on lower extremity artery disease (LEAD).

Ureteral complications after open aortoiliac reconstruction for aneurysmal and occlusive disease have been reported previously. However, ureteral complications from endovascular interventions for iliac artery disease are relatively rare. We describe a case of left ureteral stenosis resulting in hydroureteronephrosis after multiple endovascular interventions involving the left common and external iliac arteries. The intraoperative findings during robotic ureterolysis revealed significant peri-iliac fibrosis and scarring in the area of the iliac stents. This case illustrates that, although uncommon, ureteral stenosis may occur after iliac stenting owing to peristent fibrosis.

Purpose: This work evaluated the longitudinal dynamics of ellipsoid zone (EZ) integrity in retinal vein occlusion (RVO) with macular edema and their relation to outcomes. Methods: Clinical characteristics and optical coherence tomography data of patients with RVO and associated macular edema were collected at baseline and at 3 and 12 months. Macular cube scans were exported into EZ and retinal-layer analysis software. Longitudinal EZ parameters and visual acuity (VA) outcomes were regressed and correlated. Results: The study included 108 eyes of 108 patients; all eyes were treated with antivascular endothelial growth factor therapy at the baseline visit. VA improved from 20/97 at baseline to 20/52 at 3 months and 12 months ( P Conclusions: EZ and outer retinal integrity are correlated with functional outcomes in RVO. Following treatment, EZ integrity improves and is associated with functional improvement. In RVO baseline, EZ features were not associated with 1-year VA outcomes, but evaluation of EZ integrity at 3 months was linked to 1-year outcomes.

Background Edge stenoses are the predominant limitation of self-expanding covered stent treatment of superficial femoral artery (SFA) occlusive disease, necessitating reinterventions. Angioplasty of an edge stenosis is associated with a high recurrence rate. Drug-coated balloon (DCB) treatment of edge stenoses might improve outcomes by decreasing the incidence of restenosis. Purpose The aim of this study was to evaluate the outcomes of using a DCB for the treatment of edge stenoses after self-expanding covered stent placement for SFA occlusive disease. Method We performed a retrospective analysis of patients treated with a DCB for edge stenoses after self-expanding covered stent placement. The primary endpoint was primary patency at one year. The secondary endpoints included procedure-related complications, secondary patency, and freedom from target lesion revascularization (TLR). Results A total of 21 patients with 28 edge stenoses were included. The time from primary treatment to treatment of the edge stenosis was 19 months (interquartile range (IQR) 8; 52 months). Primary patency and assisted primary patency at one year were 66.7% with a secondary patency of 90.9%. Freedom from TLR was 86.1%, and freedom from clinically driven TLR was 89.4%. Four patients presented with a hemodynamically significant restenosis, and three of those patients had an occlusion. Median time to failure was six months (IQR 3.5; 7.0 months), and median time to occlusion was four months (IQR 3.0; 6.0 months). Conclusion The treatment of edge stenoses using a DCB is associated with a safe one-year outcome; however, this has to be confirmed in larger prospective studies. The continuous surveillance of patients is indicated.

Hemoglobin S/OArab (Hgb S/OArab) disease is a rare hemoglobinopathy which presents similarly to sickle cell retinopathy, with only three prior reports that describe associated retinal findings. In this report, we present ophthalmic examination findings in 2 patients with Hgb S/OArab. One patient exhibited peripheral ischemia and sunburst lesions without neovascular disease, and the other patient developed proliferative retinopathy of both eyes and multiple posterior-pole branch retinal artery occlusions in one eye. To our knowledge, this is the first case of retinal arterial occlusive disease in Hgb S/OArab, and the first report of fundus autofluorescence and OCT angiography in Hgb/OArab retinopathy.

Objectives The superficial femoral artery can be used as inflow for infra-geniculate bypass, but progressive proximal occlusive disease may affect graft durability. We sought to evaluate the effect of superficial femoral artery versus common femoral artery inflow on infra-geniculate bypass patency within a large contemporary multicenter registry. Methods The vascular quality initiative was queried from 2013 to 2019 to identify patients with >30-day patency follow-up, Rutherford chronic limb ischemia stage 1–6, and an infra-geniculate bypass, excluding those with prior ipsilateral bypass. The cohort was stratified by inflow vessel, with primary, primary-assisted, and secondary patency serving as the primary outcome variables. Multivariate Cox-proportional hazard models and radius-based propensity-score matching were performed to reduce treatment-selection bias due to clinical covariates. Results A total of 11,190 bypass procedures were performed (8378 common femoral artery inflow, 2812 superficial femoral artery) on 10,110 patients, with a mean follow-up of 12.8 months (range 1–98). Patients receiving superficial femoral artery inflow bypasses were more commonly male ( p = 0.002), obese ( p Conclusions Within the vascular quality initiative, there is no significant difference in life-table determined three-year primary, primary-assisted, and secondary patency between infra-geniculate bypasses using common femoral artery inflow compared to superficial femoral artery inflow. Small, statistically significant differences exist in primary, primary-assisted, and secondary patency favoring common femoral artery inflow after propensity score matching. Long-term follow-up data are required in the vascular quality initiative to better evaluate bypass graft durability as this study was limited by a mean follow-up of one year.

Purpose: To assess the midterm safety and effectiveness of the Gore Viabahn Balloon-Expandable Endoprosthesis (VBX Stent-Graft) in the treatment of patients with de novo or restenotic aortoiliac lesions. Materials and Methods: The prospective, multicenter, nonrandomized, single-arm VBX FLEX clinical study ( ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT02080871) evaluated 134 patients (mean age 66±9.5 years; 79 men) up to 3 years after treatment with the VBX Stent-Graft. A total of 213 lesions were treated with 234 stent-grafts. The primary safety endpoint was a composite of major adverse events (MAEs), which were evaluated through 30 days and 9 months. Secondary outcomes collected through 3 years included freedom from target lesion revascularization (TLR), target vessel revascularization (TVR), clinically-driven TLR (CD-TLR), and CD-TVR as well as Rutherford category, resting ankle-brachial index (ABI), and functional status. A univariate analysis determined any correlation between baseline variables and TLR. Results: The observed composite percentage of MAEs was 2.3%, well below the 17% performance goal (pConclusion: The VBX Stent-Graft is a robust and durable treatment option for aortoiliac occlusive disease as evidenced by the sustained 3-year safety and effectiveness outcomes.

Background Arterial transit time correction by data acquisition with multiple post-labeling delays (PLDs) or relatively long PLDs is expected to obtain more accurate imaging in cases of the cerebrovascular steno-occlusive disease. However, there have so far been no reports describing the significance of arterial spin labeling (ASL) images at short PLDs regarding the evaluation of cerebral circulation in ischemic cerebrovascular disease. Purpose To clarify the role of short-PLD ASL in cerebrovascular steno-occlusive disease. Material and Methods Fifty-three patients with cerebrovascular steno-occlusive disease were included in this study. All patients underwent ASL magnetic resonance imaging and 15O-PET within two days of each modality. To compare the ASL findings with each parameter of PET, the right-to-left (R/L) ratio, defined as the right middle cerebral artery (MCA) value/left MCA value, was calculated. Results There is a significant correlation between the ASL images at a short PLD and the ratio of cerebral blood flow and cerebral blood volume by 15O-PET, which may accurately reflect the cerebral perfusion pressure. A receiver operating characteristic curve analysis indicated that ASL images at PLD 1000 and 1500 ms were more accurate than at PLD 2000–3000 ms for the detection of a ≥10% change in the PET cerebral blood flow. Conclusion ASL images at shorter PLDs may be useful at least as a screening modality to detect the changes in the cerebral circulation in cerebrovascular steno-occlusive disease. We must evaluate ASL images at multiple PLDs while considering the arterial transit time of each case at present.

BACKGROUND: Critical limb ischemia (CLI) is a terminal stage of peripheral arterial disease (PAD), in the absence of intervention, may lead to lower extremity amputation or death. In cases where medical management is not effective or severe cases of PAD, endovascular and surgical interventions are indicated. 2 Endovascular interventions become a first-line approach of CLI management and have advanced considerably within the past decade. 1,3 CASE DESCRIPTION: A 73-year old female with complain of left leg pain, accompanied with necrotic wound since 6 months ago. Duplex ultrasound showed no-flow from proximal to distal left superficial femoral artery (SFA). From CT-Angiography showed total occlusion from proximal left SFA to proximal poplitea artery about 7,2cm with collateral vessels. She was diagnosed with CLI left inferior extremity Fontaine IV Rutherford III. Angiography inferior extrimities was performed with total occlusion from proximal to distal left SFA with collateral vessels run to distal. We deployed a self-expanding stent with size 6mmx100mmx120cm at proximal-mid SFA. The patient showed improvement and was discharged after 5-days observation DISCUSSION: Patients with CLI have high risk of limb-loss without revascularization and high short term risk of cardiovascular events. Endovascular revascularization of femoro-popliteal occlusive offers lower initial risks than open surgery, with grade IIB-recommendation for lesion less than 25cm. Clinical success of endovascular stenting on CLI usually synonymous to limb salvage CONCLUSION:Favorable results can be achieved with endovascular stenting approach in patients with CLI, where close follow-up treatment afterwards can save limb loss.

Background Management of iliac artery occlusive disease has changed dramatically over the past few decades. Secondary to advancement in endovascular technologies and techniques, percutaneous interventions have gradually replaced open surgical approaches even for the most difficult cases. In difficult to cross chronic total occlusions (CTO) of the iliac artery, subintimal angioplasty (SIA) with or without the use of re-entry devices (RED) offers a valuable alternative to intra-luminal crossing. Objective To systematically review the literature for studies reporting procedural or short- and long-term clinical outcomes after the use of SIA, with or without RED use for iliac CTOs. Methods PRISMA guidelines were followed. Literature search (PubMed, Cochrane CENTRAL and EMBASE) and data extraction were performed by two independent researchers. Quantitative synthesis of the reported outcomes was applied when possible. Results Thirty studies met the inclusion criteria and were selected as eligible for this systematic review, with a total of 1002 patients (61.3% males) and 1112 lesions treated with SIA. RED were used in 21.9% of the lesions. Critical limb ischemia was the indication in 51.4%. The overall procedural success rates were 85.8% for SIA and 88.5% for RED. The complication rate ranged from 0 to 10% among different series, but overall it was similar among the two groups (6.9% in the RED group and 6.7% among the SIA group). One year primary patency rates were around 60% in the RED. In the SIA only arm, there was a large heterogeneity, with patency rates ranging from 51.7% to 96.8%. Conclusion SIA with or without RED use is a safe and effective treatment for the treatment of iliac artery CTOs. Future studies are needed to delineate whether intraluminal crossing or SIA is more effective for endovascular treatment of iliac CTOs.

ObjectivesScarring from prior bypass surgery and irradiation may compromise revascularization options in critical ischemia due to underlying occlusive disease. Occlusive disease of the axillo-brachial artery is particularly difficult to revascularize under such hostile conditions.MethodWe present a case of a 58-year-old woman presenting with a painful, pulseless, and cool left upper extremity. The patient had a known history of left upper extremity occlusive disease which was managed by subclavian–axillary artery stenting with re-occlusion and subsequent extra-anatomic left carotid-to-proximal brachial artery prosthetic bypass, which was complicated by stroke. The patient had a history of left mastectomy, axillary node dissection, and external beam radiation therapy. When considering revascularization options, the combination of post-radiation changes and scarring of the conventional operative zones for revascularization posed a high risk for complications. We describe a novel approach for such revascularization, where the inflow source was the terminal brachiocephalic artery, outflow to the upper left brachial artery, with anatomic intrathoracic-to-axillary tunneling through the thoracic outlet after verifying the lack of dynamic extrinsic compression at that level.ResultThe procedure resulted in resolution of the symptoms and the patient continued to do well 2 years later.ConclusionThis case shows that anatomic tunneling through the thoracic outlet can be a viable option for upper extremity revascularization when hostile conditions preclude other anatomic tunneling routes or extra-anatomic options.

Objective The covered endovascular reconstruction of the aortic bifurcation (CERAB) technique was introduced in 2009 in order to provide an anatomically and physiologically optimal endovascular reconstruction of the aortic bifurcation. Method In the current review, all available evidence on this technique was summarized. Results In vitro studies have shown a more favorable geometry of CERAB compared to kissing stents, leading to better local flow conditions. The results of CERAB are at least as good as those achieved with kissing stents in a more complex group of treated patients. The mid-term patency rates approach those of surgical reconstruction. Initial data show that the technique can also be used in combination with chimney grafts in order to preserve side branches. Conclusion CERAB has proven to be the most optimal endovascular treatment option for aorto-iliac occlusive disease with regard to geometry and flow and is related to promising clinical outcomes. Prospective and comparative trials are necessary to elucidate the most optimal treatment algorithm for patients with aorto-iliac occlusive disease.

Endovascular stenting of the deep venous system is increasingly used to treat stenotic and occluded veins. This article reviews the efficacy and safety of venous stenting for lower extremity occlusive disease.The Ovid portal was used to search the MEDLINE database for English-language randomized controlled trials and case series published between January 1, 2005, and December 31, 2018, involving venous stenting for lower extremity and inferior venacaval occlusive and compressive disease. Studies were eligible for inclusion if they contained at least 30 patients with at least 6 months of follow-up. Clinical outcomes, long-term patency, complications, and postoperative anticoagulation regimens were reviewed. Also included are nationally presented trial results of dedicated venous stents that may not have been formally published yet.Relevant studies were too heterogeneous for a formal meta-analysis to be performed. We analyzed 3812 stented limbs from 23 published studies and two national presentations. Dedicated venous stents were used in 740 patients, and standard stents were used in 3072 patients. The overall major complication rate was 1%. Median symptomatic improvement and ulcer healing were seen in 79% and 71% of the standard stented limbs, respectively. For standard stents, the median primary, assisted primary, and secondary patency rates were 71%, 89%, and 91%, respectively, with a median study follow-up of 23.5 months. Dedicated venous stents had an overall primary patency of 78.8% at 12 months, with lower patency (73%) seen in post-thrombotic vs compressive (96%) disease.Whereas the quality of evidence remains weak, iliocaval venous stenting appears to be a safe and effective treatment of chronic venous disease. In early results, dedicated venous stents appear safe and demonstrate results that are as good as or better than those of historically used devices.

OBJECTIVEThe impact of FDA approval of flow-diversion technology for the treatment of supraclinoid internal carotid artery aneurysms and the publication of the Carotid Occlusion Surgery Study, both of which occurred in 2011, on the utilization of extracranial-intracranial (EC-IC) bypasses is not known.METHODSThe National Inpatient Sample (NIS) was queried for hospitalizations for EC-IC bypass performed from 2008 to 2016. Diagnoses of interest included an unruptured intracranial aneurysm (UIA), subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH), carotid occlusive disease (COD), and moyamoya disease. The authors assessed trends in EC-IC bypass utilization for these diagnoses and the incidence of adverse discharges, defined as discharge to locations other than home, and the rate of mortality.RESULTSA total of 1640 EC-IC bypass procedures were performed at 558 hospitals during the study period, with 1148 procedures at 448 hospitals performed for a diagnosis of interest. The most frequent surgical indication was moyamoya disease (65.7%, n = 754), followed by COD (23.2%, n = 266), SAH (3.2%, n = 37), and a UIA (7.9%, n = 91). EC-IC bypass utilization for COD decreased from 0.21 per 100 admissions of COD in 2010 to 0.09 per 100 admissions in 2016 (p = 0.023). The frequency of adverse discharges increased during the study period from 22.3% of annual admissions in 2008 to 31.2% in 2016 (p = 0.030) when analysis was limited to procedures performed for a diagnosis of interest. Per volume, the top 5th percentile of hospitals, on average, performed 18.4 procedures (SD 13.2) per hospital during the study period, compared to 1.3 procedures (SD 1.3) that were performed in hospitals within the bottom 95th percentile. The rate of adverse discharges was higher at low-volume institutions when compared to that at high-volume institutions (33.8% vs 28.7%; p = 0.029). Over the study period, the authors noted a trend toward a reduced percentage of total surgical volume performed at high-volume hospitals (p < 0.001).CONCLUSIONSThe authors observed a decrease in the utilization of EC-IC bypass for COD during the study period. An increase in the rate of adverse discharges was also noted, coinciding with more procedures being performed at lower-volume centers.

Introduction: Descending aortic complex atheromatous plaques can cause claudication, critical lower limb ischaemia (CLI), and are an independent risk factor for systemic embolization. Current practice involves dealing with most cases using endovascular techniques. However, open repair remains superior in terms of the patency rates and may be the only valid option in a subgroup of patients who are unsuitable for endovascular treatments. Most of the current data investigating open procedures are now historic. The aim of this study is to determine whether it is a feasible option in the current day practice. Patients and methods: Ten years data from 2010 to 2020 were collected retrospectively from the hospital records. Clinic letters, radiologic scans, operative records and discharge letters were reviewed. Death records were reviewed to identify patients who survived. Results: Ten cases were identified. The average age was 55 and the mean BMI was 29.4. The mean hospital stay in days was 12 (range: 4 to 22). The mean follow-up period was 147 days (range: 30 to 360 days). Four of the patients were TASC B, four were TASC C and two were TASC D. Two cases had to return to theatres. One patient had transient post-op AF and another had transient post-op ileus. One patient was readmitted within 30 days of discharge for urosepsis. All cases are alive to date except one case which only survived three years after procedure. Conclusion: AE is a procedure that should be considered in selected cases where endovascular approach is not feasible. There is a trend towards lower mortality than the historic data available in literature. Larger case series or registry data may be required to accurately estimate the current day mortality and morbidity figures.

While many algorithms have been proposed to estimate blood flow velocities based on the transport information of contrast agent acquired by digital subtraction angiography (DSA), most relevant studies focused on a single vessel, leaving a question open as to whether the algorithms would be suitable for estimating blood flow velocities in arterial systems with complex topological structures. In this study, a one-dimensional (1-D) modeling method was developed to simulate the transport of contrast agent in cerebral arterial networks with various anatomical variations or having occlusive disease, thereby generating an in silico database for examining the accuracies of some typical algorithms (i.e., time-of-center of gravity (TCG), shifted least-squares (SLS), and cross correlation (CC) algorithms) that estimate blood flow velocity based on the concentration-time curves (CTCs) of contrast agent. The results showed that the TCG algorithm had the best performance in estimating blood flow velocities in most cerebral arteries, with the accuracy being only mildly affected by anatomical variations of the cerebral arterial network. Nevertheless, the presence of a stenosis of moderate to high severity in the internal carotid artery could considerably impair the accuracy of the TCG algorithm in estimating blood flow velocities in some cerebral arteries where the transport of contrast agent was disturbed by strong collateral flows. In summary, the study suggests that the TCG algorithm may offer a promising means for estimating blood flow velocities based on CTCs of contrast agent monitored in cerebral arteries, provided that the shapes of CTCs are not highly distorted by collateral flows.

HIV infection has now become a chronic disease with a good life expectancy thanks to antiretrovirals. The mortality currently is attributed to other pathologies in particular cardiovascular because of the inflammation and the side effects of the drugs. All arteries can be damaged in HIV, especially the aorta, with several types of lesions which can be occlusive, aneurysmal, dissecting, even with the cases of arteriovenous fistula which have been described. HIV occlusive arterial disease is different from atheromatous disease in HIV-free patients and this is confirmed by pathology and ultrasound studies, which makes it more difficult to manage HIV-related occlusions. The open surgical treatment especially in the acute forms is disappointing with complications of rethrombosis and infectious and of sepsis of prosthesis considering the immunosuppression, the endovascular treatment begins to become the treatment of choice in the aneurysmal pathology and probably it would be in the future for occlusive disease.

The effect of the change in cerebrovascular reactivity (CVR) in each brain area on cognitive function after extracranial-intracranial bypass was examined as a preliminary study in 20 patients with severe steno-occlusive disease. CVR studies and the visual cancellation task (VC) were performed before and after surgery. The Speed and Accuracy scores of the VC, which increased with improvement after the operation, were evaluated. CVR increased postoperatively both ipsilaterally and contralaterally to the surgery. Before surgery VC completion time was delayed, but accuracy was relatively maintained. In stepwise and least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regression models, two regions (right inferior frontal gyrus and right uncus) for the Speed score and one region (right superior occipital gyrus) for the Accuracy score were common brain regions associated with CVR change after surgery. The Speed and Accuracy scores of brain regions of the right cerebral hemisphere, which may be anatomically distant from the blood vessel anastomosis, were related to CVR change. Moreover, in the ischemic stage, with reduced CVR but no cerebral infarction, processing speed might decrease to maintain accuracy, and revascularization might increase the processing speed. In revascularization, the relationship between CVR change and the speed-accuracy trade-off in each brain region should be considered.

Objective To report the results of a single-centre in the treatment of extensive aorto-iliac occlusive disease (AIOD) by the covered endovascular reconstruction of aortic bifurcation (CERAB) technique. Methods A retrospective analysis was conducted on data obtained from the review of medical charts of all consecutive patients treated with CERAB technique for AIOD between January 2016 and December 2019 in San Giovanni-Addolorata Hospital (Rome, Italy). Clinical examination, duplex ultrasound with ankle-brachial index measurement and contrast-enhanced computed tomography angiography were performed preoperatively. A clinical and ultrasound follow-up was carried out at one month and then half yearly after the intervention to evaluate patients’ clinical status, limb salvage, target lesion revascularization rate, primary and secondary patency rate. Results During the study period, 24 patients (14 men, 58.3%; 10 women, 41.7%; median age 59 years, range 37–79 years) underwent CERAB for AIOD (TASC II C 29.2%, TASC II D 70.8%). Indications for treatment were: intermittent claudication in 18 patients (75%) and critical limb ischemia in 6 (25%). Technical success was achieved in all cases. Perioperative minor complications occurred in three cases (12.5%). One patient reported an intraoperative iliac rupture requiring adjunctive covered stenting. Median hospital length of stay was two days (range 1–9). No patient died perioperatively nor at the last follow-up. At a median follow-up of 18 months (range 6–48 months), mean ankle-brachial index increased significantly (from 0.62 ± 0.15 before the procedure to 0.84 ± 0.18) ( P Conclusion CERAB technique demonstrated to be effective at the mid-term follow-up with low rate of complications and short length of stay. Long-term results and more robust data are needed to affirm this technique as the first-line treatment for extensive AIOD. However, it could become the preferred option especially in fragile patients and during contemporary COVID-19 pandemic due to the current limitations in vascular and critical care bed capacity.

This discussion will review and investigate the indications for amputation, specifically for primary amputation (amputation performed without an attempt at a limb salvage revascularization procedure) in lower extremity chronic limb-threatening ischemia (CLTI). We will further investigate the results of lower extremity revascularization and discuss the factors that are associated with an adverse outcome after revascularization. In this way, we will define when primary amputation may be warranted or, minimally, should be strongly considered over what may be overtly futile attempts at limb salvage procedures. The incidence of amputation, after two decades in which amputation rates have declined, has recently been on the rise, related to an increase in diabetic-associated amputation. Endovascular options have extended treatment for those high-risk patients with CLTI. Despite this, there is little comparative data regarding the appropriate selection for the initial revascularization attempt. Revascularization procedures do fail and factors associated with adverse outcome are being continuously elucidated and re-affirmed, including patient comorbidities (end-stage renal disease, frailty, dementia), wound assessment (wound, ischemia, foot infection classification), and anatomic patterns of the occlusive disease. Indications for primary amputation include major tissue loss, non-ambulatory status and declining functionality, un-reconstructable vascular occlusive disease, and situations in which either the risks exceed the benefit or there is limited benefit due to high probability of an adverse outcome. Primary amputation remains an important alternative in the management of CLTI. Further staging and classification of variables and of the disease pattern will hopefully allow for a more evidence-based decision-making process and further define the role of primary amputation.

Ligation of the left renal vein is an accepted manoeuvre where it is difficult to access the pararenal abdominal aorta for the open treatment of aortic occlusive or aneurysmal disease. There is some controversy regarding the long-term effect of this on renal function. We describe the case of a 37-year-old gentleman who underwent an elective aorto-bifemoral bypass for aorto-iliac occlusive disease with symptoms of short distance claudication, with intra-operative ligation of the left renal vein. This was complicated by post-operative acute renal failure and haematuria, with CT findings of left renal venous dilatation and peri-renal stranding. The patient underwent successful left renocaval bypass with reversed great saphenous vein, with subsequent resolution of haematuria and improvement in renal function. The syndrome of acute renal failure and haematuria is a rare but possible complication of left renal vein ligation during aortic surgery, and restoration of renal venous outflow via renocaval bypass in this instance was an effective method of treating this complication.