Matteo Ripepi

Use of Contrast-Enhanced Ultrasound in Carotid Atherosclerotic Disease: Limits and Perspectives

Contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) has recently become one of the most versatile and powerful diagnostic tools in vascular surgery. One of the most interesting fields of application of this technique is the study of the carotid atherosclerotic plaque vascularization and its correlation with neurological symptoms (transient ischemic attack, minor stroke, and major stroke) and with the characteristics of the “vulnerable plaque” (surface ulceration, hypoechoic plaques, intraplaque hemorrhage, thinner fibrous cap, and carotid plaque neovascularization at histopathological analysis of the sample after surgical removal). The purpose of this review is to collect all the original studies available in literature (24 studies with 1356 patients enrolled) and to discuss the state of the art, limits, and future perspectives of CEUS analysis. The results of this work confirm the reliability of this imaging study for the detection of plaques with high risk of embolization; however, a shared, user-friendly protocol of imaging analysis is not available yet. The definition of this operative protocol becomes mandatory in order to compare results from different centers and to validate a cerebrovascular risk stratification of the carotid atherosclerotic lesions evaluated with CEUS.

Abdominal aortic endograft collapse due to false lumen radial force of an acute type B aortic dissection.

We report a case of abdominal endograft proximal collapse due to acute type B aortic dissection in a patient previously treated with endovascular repair (EVAR) for an infrarenal abdominal aortic aneurysm. Patient underwent axillobifemoral bypass grafting, in emergency. The postoperative computed tomography scan showed reexpansion of the occluded endograft. The patient died after 2 days with evidence of progression of the thrombosis of the false lumen and with involvement of renal, visceral, and medullar artery. EVAR collapse associated to acute type B aortic dissection is a challenging condition, which requires aggressive approach.

Rupture of giant superficial femoral artery aneurysm in a leukemic patient submitted to chemotherapy.

The superficial femoral artery (SFA) is a relatively rare location for lower limb aneurysmatic disease. In the literature, this disease is described an association between a relatively high growth rate and/or the rupture of aneurysms and chemotherapeutic agents. We report a case of the rupture of a giant SFA aneurysm in a patient during chemotherapy for acute lymphatic leukemia.

Ultrasound surveillance in endoluminal laser treatment for varicose veins

License. The full terms of the License are available at http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/. Non-commercial uses of the work are permitted without any further permission from Dove Medical Press Limited, provided the work is properly attributed. Permissions beyond the scope of the License are administered by Dove Medical Press Limited. Information on how to request permission may be found at: http://www.dovepress.com/permissions.php Journal of Vascular Diagnostics 2013:1 21–23 Journal of Vascular Diagnostics Dovepress

Successful percutaneous transgluteal embolization of a complex arteriovenous malformation feeding a hypogastric artery aneurysm

Pelvic arteriovenous malformation (AVM) is a rare condition mostly requiring a complex therapeutic strategy. The surgical approach is challenging and burdened by relatively high mortality and morbidity rates. No guidelines are available for the endovascular treatment of AVM because the literature is limited to small case series and case reports. We present a complex case of a pelvic AVM associated with an internal iliac artery aneurysm in a patient previously treated with a common to external prosthetic substitution for aneurysm and proximal ligation of internal iliac artery.

Open Surgical Treatment of a Severe Case of Obstructive Calcifying Aortic Disease

The obstructive calcifying aortic disease refers to severe calcifications of the descending aorta that obstruct or slow blood flow. Here, we report the case of a 65-year-old woman with recent onset of a very tight intermittent claudication and concomitant severe and uncontrolled hypertension, treated with a bypass graft between the proximal descending thoracic aorta and the supravisceral abdominal aorta.

Pulmonary embolism due to popliteal vein aneurysm during pregnancy induced by in vitro fertilization.

Popliteal vein aneurysms (PVAs) are rare but may cause severe and even fatal complications, such as pulmonary embolism (PE). A woman at the eighth week of pregnancy came to our attention because of a thrombosis of a previously undetected left PVA, diagnosed after a PE episode. Surgery was delayed until after delivery and breastfeeding, during which anticoagulant therapy was established.