Bayer Cinar

A Modified Combined Approach to Operative Carotid and Coronary Artery Disease: 82 Cases in 8 Years

BACKGROUND A significant number of patients undergoing coronary artery surgery have severe carotid artery disease. It is also true that up to half of the patients undergoing carotid endarterectomy (CEA) have severe treatable coronary lesions. This study aims to review data regarding 82 patients of combined approach in 8 years; the second half consists of 44 patients whose CEA was performed under local anesthesia. It compares results of the conventional and the modified approaches to simultaneous surgery. METHODS All 82 patients who planned to have a concomitant procedure were recorded prospectively between 1995 and 2003. From 1998, the surgical technique has been modified to switch to local anesthesia for CEA, rather than perform under a single general anesthetic period. All pre-and perioperative data as well as in-hospital and outpatient control (mid- to long-term) data were recorded. A P-value of less than .05 was considered as significant. Analysis of survival was performed by using the Kaplan-Meier method and the log-rank test. RESULTS The 30-day follow-up was 100% complete for all patients. All patients were followed for 59.59 to 114 months) months postoperatively. Three patients (6.8%) in the modified and 2 (5.2%) in the standard group had intraluminal shunting (P > .05). In the standard group, 3 patients expired and 3 had perioperative stroke; only 1 patient had a stroke in the modified group and two expired (P > .05). Mean survival time according to Kaplan-Meier test was 109.97, SE 2.84, 95% CI (104.41-115.52) months for the former group, whereas it was 62.79, SE 1.20, 95% CI (60.4565.13) months for the latter. Actuarial estimates of survival during ten-year follow up were 94.44% SE 3.83 in ten-year follow-ups and 97.67% SE 2.30 in 5-year follow-ups for the modified group (P > .05). CONCLUSIONS Avoidance from extended periods of general anesthesia and cardiopulmonary bypass periods as well as immediate recognition of impaired cerebral flow during CEA and the time it provides to take preventive measures are the most important benefits of the modified technique without significantly changing hospital and long-term mortality and stroke. It may also reduce the cost and the waiting period for the suffering patient.

Midterm Results With Endovascular Approach to Abdominal Aortic Pathologies in Behçet’s Disease

BACKGROUND Vascular involvement in Behcets disease is rare, but may be at the forefront of the clinical picture with possible life-threatening scenarios. We reviewed our preliminary results with endovascular treatment of abdominal aortic pathologies in Behçets disease. METHODS Data regarding seven patients with abdominal aortic pathologies (aneurysm, pseudoaneurysm, and aortoenteric fistula) and Behçets disease were treated with endovascular stent-grafting between 2002 and 2006. RESULTS Seven patients (aged, 39.1 ± 9; range, 27-52 years) with a mean aortic diameter of 58.4 ± 6.3 mm received endovascular stent-grafts, two patients being in emergency settings. Two patients were in active disease state. Four tube-shaped, two aorto-bi-iliac, and one aorto-uni-iliac stents were implanted. One patient expired on day 28 with multiorgan failure after emergency stent-grafting owing to enlarging periprosthetic hematoma following open surgery for ruptured aneurysm. Another patient was declined for endovascular therapy owing to hypoplastic aortoiliac vasculature. CONCLUSION Endovascular approach provides a reasonable alternative to open repair for the treatment of abdominal aortic aneurysms in select cases; however, in emergency settings, endovascular repair may well have an important, but limited, role in select patients with aortoenteric fistulae, it may yet require a surgical intervention.

Extracranial Carotid Artery Aneurysm Due to Behçet's Disease

Behçets disease is a chronic systemic inflammatory disorder associated with recurrent oral and genital ulcers and iritis. Vascular lesions are encountered in 7%–29% of patients, gravely affecting the course of the disease. Extracranial carotid aneurysms due to Behçets disease are extremely rare. We describe a surgically treated case of Behçets disease in a 28-year-old man who presented with a rapidly enlarging left common carotid artery aneurysm.

Midterm Results Following Percutaneous Rotational Thrombectomy for Acute Thrombotic Occlusions of Prosthetic Arteriovenous Access Grafts.

Patent vascular access is critical for patients on regular hemodialysis. Prosthetic grafts are good alternatives when the superficial venous system is of poor quality. However, thrombosis is one of the main drawbacks of synthetic grafts, with reports of 59% to 90% patency rates for 1 year. In cases of thrombotic occlusion of prosthetic arteriovenous fistula grafts, percutaneous mechanical thrombectomy has recently gained clinical popularity as a potential alternative to surgical thrombectomy or pharmacologic thrombolysis. We reviewed our preliminary results from 30 percutaneous rotational thrombectomies performed in a total of 22 patients in the setting of acute dialysis-access prosthetic graft occlusion of the upper extremity. Among the 30 cases of acute occlusion of the arteriovenous graft, immediate success with angiographic flow restoration was observed in all patients except for 2 patients (both females; 6%), with de novo occlusion where reocclusion occurred within 12 hours despite apparent immediate angiographic patency. The mean duration between the initial presentation with acute arteriovenous graft occlusion and the thrombectomy procedure was 27.4 ± 12.4 hours. The mean duration of graft patency was 10.45 ± 0.6 months. A total of 75% of the arteriovenous grafts were patent at the end of 12 months of follow-up. Female gender, diabetes mellitus, and diagnosis to intervention interval were reviewed for midterm graft failure, and the presence of diabetes mellitus yielded significance (P < 0.05). Percutaneous techniques play important roles in the treatment of failed or failing arteriovenous fistulae and grafts. Ongoing analysis of outcomes of both percutaneous and surgical intervention is necessary to continue to identify optimum treatment algorithms.

Debranching Solutions in Endografting for Complex Thoracic Aortic Dissections

Background Conventional surgical repair of thoracic aortic dissections is a challenge due to mortality and morbidity risks. Objectives We analyzed our experience in hybrid aortic arch repair for complex dissections of the aortic arch. Methods Between 2009 and 2013, 18 patients (the mean age of 67 ± 8 years-old) underwent hybrid aortic arch repair. The procedural strategy was determined on the individual patient. Results Thirteen patients had type I repair using trifurcation and another patient with bifurcation graft. Two patients had type II repair with replacement of the ascending aorta. Two patients received extra-anatomic bypass grafting to left carotid artery allowing covering of zone 1. Stent graft deployment rate was 100%. No patients experienced stroke. One patient with total debranching of the aortic arch following an acute dissection of the proximal arch expired 3 months after TEVAR due to heart failure. There were no early to midterm endoleaks. The median follow-up was 20 ± 8 months with patency rate of 100%. Conclusion Various debranching solutions for different complex scenarios of the aortic arch serve as less invasive procedures than conventional open surgery enabling safe and effective treatment of this highly selected subgroup of patients with complex aortic pathologies.

Surgical treatment of abdominal aortic aneurysms associated with horseshoe kidney.

Abdominal aortic aneurysm surgery associated with a horseshoe kidney (HSK) is a serious technical challenge for the surgeon. We reviewed our experience with 127 patients electively operated on between 1990 and 2004 for abdominal aortic aneurysm. Pre- and perioperative medical, surgical, and radiologic data were retrospectively reviewed. Preoperative diagnosis was achieved with computed tomography with or without angiography or with additional conventional aortography. Seven patients were recognized to have had a HSK, with a mean age of 67.29 ± 2.43 years. Preoperative serum creatinine levels were similar in patients with or without HSK (1.0 ± 0.08 vs 0.9 ± 0.12 mg/dL; not significant). In five of the patients with HSK, reimplantation of the anomalous renal artery was necessary. In all 127 patients, hospital mortality consisted of 5 patients, none of whom had an HSK. Dealing with HSK seemed to increase aortic clamp times (30.43 ± 3.55 vs 27.04 ± 3.92 minutes; p < .05) slightly. Patients with or without HSK were given similar amounts of intravenous fluid replacement (2,214.2 ± 441.3 vs 1,923.3 ± 433.6 mL/patient; not significant) and allogeneic blood transfusion (0.71 ± 0.49 vs 0.9 ± 0.4 U/patient; not significant) and had a similar intensive care unit stay. Abdominal aortic aneurysms associated with HSK have been managed without division of the isthmic tissue. The left retroperitoneal approach provided adequate exposure for all patients with HSK.

Chimney Grafts for a Juxtarenal Aneurysm in an Octogenarian Patient with Left Main Coronary Artery Disease and Symptomatic Carotid Stenosis: Case Report

142 atients with juxtarenal, pararenal, or thoracoabdominal aneurysms require a complex surgical open repair, which is associated with increased mortality and morbidity.1 Approximately 20 to 30% of the patients are considered not eligible for standard endovascular aneurysm repair because of aortic neck morphology.2 The “chimney graft” or “snorkel” technique has evolved as a potential alternative to fenestrated and sidebranched endografts which made endovascular branch preservation possible, but these procedures are time-consuming and expensive.2 The chimney Chimney Grafts for a Juxtarenal Aneurysm in an Octogenarian Patient with Left Main Coronary Artery Disease and Symptomatic Carotid Stenosis: Case Report