Sinisa Rusovic

Autologous bone marrow-derived progenitor cell transplantation for myocardial regeneration after acute infarction.

BACKGROUND Experimental and first clinical studies suggest that the transplantation of bone marrow derived, or circulating blood progenitor cells, may beneficially affect postinfarction remodelling processes after acute myocardial infarction. AIM This pilot trial reports investigation of safety and feasibility of autologous bone marrow-derived progenitor cell therapy for faster regeneration of the myocardium after infarction. METHODS AND RESULTS Four male patients (age range 47-68 years) with the first extensive anterior, ST elevation, acute myocardial infarction (AMI), were treated by primary angioplasty. Bone marrow mononuclear cells were administered by intracoronary infusion 3-5 days after the infarction. Bone marrow was harvested by multiple aspirations from posterior cristae iliacae under general anesthesia, and under aseptic conditions. After that, cells were filtered through stainless steel mesh, centrifuged and resuspended in serum-free culture medium, and 3 hours later infused through the catheter into the infarct-related artery in 8 equal boluses of 20 ml. Myocardial viability in the infarcted area was confirmed by dobutamine stress echocardiography testing and single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) 10-14 days after infarction. One patient had early stent thrombosis immediately before cell transplantation, and was treated successfully with second angioplasty. Single average ECG revealed one positive finding at discharge, and 24-hour Holter ECG showed only isolated ventricular ectopic beats during the follow-up period. Early findings in two patients showed significant improvement of left ventricular systolic function 3 months after the infarction. There were no major cardiac events after the transplantation during further follow-up period (30-120 days after infarction). Control SPECT for the detection of ischemia showed significant improvement in myocardial perfusion in two patients 4 months after the infarction. Echocardiographic assessment in these two patients also showed significant improvement of systolic function three months after the infarction. CONCLUSION Preliminary results of the study showed that the transplantation of bone marrow-derived progenitor cells into the infarcted area was safe, and feasible, and might improve myocardial function. Further follow-up will show if this treatment is effective in preventing negative remodeling of the left ventricle and reveal potential late adverse events (arrhythmogenicity and propensity for restenosis).

THERAPEUTIC APPROACH IN PATIENTS WITH A FLOATING THROMBUS IN THE RIGHT HEART

BACKGROUND The occurrence of a floating thrombus in the right heart, although rare, is a life-threatening condition requiring a specific approach. In most cases, these thrombi are a result of embolization from deep venous thrombosis, and have lodged temporarily in the right heart. The management of this condition is variable, depending on whether or not there is a thrombus entrapped within a foramen ovale (FO). OBJECTIVES To present the management of 2 patients with a free-floating thrombus in the right heart, and a third patient with an entrapped thrombus in the FO. CASE REPORTS Two patients with a free-floating thrombus in the right atrium who were treated with thrombolytic therapy had an immediate excellent outcome. The patient with a thrombus entrapped within the FO was scheduled for surgical removal of the thrombus due to an unacceptable risk of systemic embolization if treated with thrombolytic and anticoagulant therapy. Unfortunately, he developed an ischemic stroke on the fifth day of presentation, just a few hours before the scheduled surgery, despite meticulous monitoring of continuous heparin infusion with activated partial thromboplastin time. CONCLUSION Thrombolytic therapy is recommended in patients with a free-floating thrombus in the right heart. However, in patients with a thrombus entrapped within an FO, delaying surgical removal of the thrombus may be deleterious due to unpredictable systemic embolization.

Early inflammatory response following elective abdominal aortic aneurysm repair: A comparison between endovascular procedure and conventional, open surgery

BACKGROUND/AIM Abdominal aorta aneurysm (AAA) represents a pathological enlargment of infrarenal portion of aorta for over 50% of its lumen. The only treatment of AAA is a surgical reconstruction of the affected segment. Until the late XX century, surgical reconstruction implied explicit, open repair (OR) of AAA, which was accompanied by a significant morbidity and mortality of the treated patients. Development of endovascular repair of (EVAR) AAA, especially in the last decade, offered another possibility of surgical reconstruction of AAA. The preliminary results of world studies show that complications of such a procedure, as well as morbidity and mortality of patients, are significantly lower than with OR of AAA. The aim of this paper was to present results of comparative clinical prospective study of early inflammatory response after reconstruction of AAA be tween endovascular and open, conventional surgical technique. METHODS A comparative clinical prospective study included 39 patients, electively operated on for AAA within the period of December 2008 - February 2010, divided into two groups. The group I counted 21 (54%) of the patients, 58-87 years old (mean 74.3 years), who had been submited to EVAR by the use of excluder stent graft. The group II consisted of 18 (46%) of the patients, 49-82 (mean 66.8) years, operated on using OR technique. All of the treated patients in both groups had AAA larger than 50 mm. The study did not include patients who have been treated as urgent cases, due to the rupture or with simptomatic AAA. Clinical, biochemical and inflamatory parameters in early postoperative period were analyzed, in direct postoperative course (number of leucocytes, thrombocytes, serum circulating levels of cytokine--interleukine (IL)-2, IL-4, IL-6 and IL-10). Parameters were monitored on the zero, first, second, third and seventh postoperative days. The study was approved by the Ethics Commitee of the Military Medical Academy. RESULTS The study showed a statistically significantly shorter time of treatment in the EVAR group (average 90 min) compared to the OR group (average 136 min). Also, there was a statistically significantly less blood loss in the patients operated on by the use of EVAR surgery (average 60 mL) as compared to the patients treated with OR techinique (average 495 mL), as well as a shorter postoperative hospitalization of patients in the EVAR group (average 4 days) compared to the OR group (average 8 days). The OR group was detected with a statistically significant increase of leucocytes and statistically significant fall of the number of thrombocytes in comparison with the EVAR group in all the investigated terms. A significant concentration rise of IL-2 in the OR group and concentration rise of IL-6 in the EVAR group was shown 24 hours after the procedure, whereas on the second postoperative day there was detected a significant fall of IL-6 in the EVAR group. IL-4 concentration in the OR group was significantly higher as of the third postoperative day in comparison to the EVAR group. There was no significant difference in IL-10 concentration between the groups. CONCLUSION The EVAR techinique is a safer and less invasive and less traumatic procedure for patients than the OR of AAA. Following the EVAR, there are less inflammatory reactions in the early postoperative period as compared to the OR and therefore less possibility of the development of systemic inflammatory respons syndrome in patients treated.

Myocardial damage size assessment in the zone of infarction for indicating rescue percutaneous coronary intervention

BACKGROUND The most important predictors of subsequent patients outcome after acute myocardial infarction (AIM) are infarct size, left ventricular ejection fraction, left ventricular volumes and presence and extent of residual myocardial ischemia. All of these variables can be directly determined through scintigraphic approaches. The presence and extent of myocardial ischemia are strong pre dictors for fatal and nonfatal cardiac events and improve risk statification beyound the information gleaned from clinical variables. CASE REPORT We presented a case of 66-years-old male with myocardial infarction of anteroseptal localization. Myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI) detected a large zone of residual ischemia (culprit lesion) within infarction zone. It has an important role in risk stratification after myocardial infarction, and indicates subsequent therapeutic decision making, in this case rescue percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). After PCI we followed the therapy effect by MPI, and we found practically normal perfusion with minimal zone of defect perfusion in the apex. CONCLUSION Myocardial perfusion imaging has an important role in the initial evaluation and risk stratification of patients surviving myocardial infarction. It also plays a major role in guiding subsequent therapeutic decision making, and in monitoring the benefits of these therapeutic measures.

[Endovascular treatment of carotid-cavernous fistula type A with platinium coils].

BACKGROUND Carotid-cavernous fistulas are abnormal communications between carotid arteries or their branches and the cavernous system caused mostly by trauma. Posttraumatic fistulas represent 70% of all carotid-cavernous fistulas and they are mostly high-flow shunts (type A). This type gives characteristic eye symptoms. CASE REPORT This paper presents a 44-year old male patient with carotid-cavernous fistula as a result of penetrating head injury. In clinical presentation the patient had exophthalmos, conjunctival chemosis and weakening of vision on the right eye, headache and diplopia. Digital subtracted angiography showed high-flow carotid-cavernous fistula, which was vascularised from the left carotid artery and from vertebrobasilar artery. Endovascular embolization with platinum coils was performed through the transarterial route (endoarterial approach). Check angiogram confirmed that the fistula was closed and that no new communications developed. CONCLUSION Embolization of complex carotid-cavernous fistula type A was successfully performed with platinum coils by endovascular approach.

Left ventricular noncompaction in a patient presenting with a left ventricular failure

Introduction. Left ventricular noncompaction (LVNC) is a congenital disorder characterised by prominent trabeculations in the left ventricular myocardium. This heart condition very often goes completely undetected, or is mistaken for hypertrophic cardiomyopathy or coronary disease. Case report. A middle-aged female with a positive family history of coronary disease was admitted with chest pain, electrocardiography (ECG) changes in the area of the inferolateral wall and elevation in cardiac specific enzymes. Initially, she was suspected of having acute coronary syndrome. However, in the left ventricular apex, especially alongside the lateral and inferior walls, cardiac ultrasound visualised hypertrabeculation with multiple trabeculae projecting inside the left ventricular cavity. A short-axis view of the heart above the papillary muscles revealed the presence of two layers of the myocardium: a compacted homogeneous layer adjacent to the epicardium and a spongy layer with trabeculae and sinusoids under the endocardium. The thickness ratio between the two layers was 2.2:1. The same abnormalities were corroborated by multislice computed tomography (MSCT) of the heart. Conclusion. Left ventricular noncompaction is a rare, usually hereditary cardiomyopathy, which should be considered as a possibility in patients with myocardial hypertrophy. It is very often mistaken for coronary disease owing to ECG changes and elevated cardiac specific enzymes associated with myocardial hypertrophy and heart failure.

Urgent carotid stenting before cardiac surgery in a young male patient with acute ischemic stroke caused by aortic and carotid dissection

Introduction Acute aortic dissection (AD) is the most common life-threatening disorder affecting the aorta. Neurological symptoms are present in 17-40% of cases. The management of these patients is controversial. Case report We presented a 37-year-old man admitted for complaining of left-sided weak-ness. Symptoms appeared two hours before admission. The patient had no headache, neither thoracic pain. Neurological examination showed mild confusion, left-sided hemiplegia, National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score was 10. Ischemic stroke was suspected, brain multislice computed tomography (MSCT) and angiography were performed and right intrapetrous internal carotid artery dissection noted. Subsequent color Doppler ultrasound of the carotid arteries showed dissection of the right common carotid artery (CCA). The patient underwent thoracic and abdominal MSCT aortography which showed ascending aortic dissection from the aortic root, propagating in the brachiocephalic artery and the right CCA. Digital subtraction angiography was performed subsequently and two stents were successfully implanted in the brachiocephalic artery and the right CCA prior to cardiac surgery, only 6 hours after admission. The ascending aorta was reconstructed with graft interposition and the aortic valve re-suspended. The patient was hemodynamically stable and with no neurologic deficit after surgery. Unfortinately, at the operative day 6, mediastinitis developed and after intensive treatment the patients died 35 days after admission. Conclusion In young patients with suspected stroke and oscillatory neurological impairment urgent MSCT angiography of the brain and neck and/or Doppler sonography of the carotid and vertebral artery are mandatory to exclude carotid and aortic dissection. The prompt diagnosis permits urgent carotid stenting and cardiosurgery. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first published case of immediate carotid stenting in acute ischemic stroke after the diagnosis of carotid and aortic dissection and prior to cardiac surgery

Elective visceral hybrid repair of type III thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysm

INTRODUCTION According to the classification given by Crawford et al. type III thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysm (TAAA) is dilatation of the aorta from the level of the rib 6 to the separation of the aorta below the renal arteries, capturing all the visceral branch of aorta. Visceral hybrid reconstruction of TAAA is a procedure developed in recent years in the world, which involves a combination of conventional, open and endovascular aortic reconstruction surgery at the level of separation of the left subclavian artery to the level of visceral branches of aorta. CASE REPORT We presented a 75-years-old man, with elective visceral hybrid reconstruc tion of type III TAAA. Computerized scanning (CT) angiography of the patient showed type III TAAA with the maximum transverse diameter of aneurysm of 92 mm. Aneurysm started at the level of the sixth rib, and the end of the aneurysm was 1 cm distal to the level of renal arteries. Aneurysm compressed the esophagus, causing the patient difficulty in swallowing act, especially solid food, and frequent back pain. From the other comorbidity, the patient had been treated for a long time, due to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and hypertension. In general endotracheal anesthesia with epidural analgesia, the patient underwent visceral hybrid reconstruction of TAAA, which combines classic, open vascular surgery and endovascular procedures. Classic vascular surgery is visceral reconstruction using by-pass procedure from the distal, normal aorta to all visceral branches: celiac trunk, superior mesenteric artery and both renal arteries, with ligature of all arteries very close to the aorta. After that, by synchronous endovascular technique a complete aneurysmal exclusion of thoracoabdominal aneurysm with thoracic stent-graft was performed. The postoperative course was conducted properly and the patient left the Clinic for Vascular Surgery on postoperative day 21. Control CT, performed 3 months after the surgery showed that the patients vascular status was uneventful with functional visceral by-pass and with good position of a stent-graft without a significant endoleak. CONCLUSION Visceral hybrid reconstruction represents a complementary surgical technique to that with open reconstruction of TAAA. This approach is far less traumatic to a patient, and is especially important in patients with lot of comorbidities, because there is no need for thoracotomy, and ischemic-reperfusion injury of the body is reduced to a minimum.

Intrathrombus embolization of giant mesenteric inferior artery to prevent type II endoleak

INTRODUCTION One of the most common complications of endovascular repair of abdominal aortic aneurysm is type II endoleak - retrograde branch flow. CASE REPORT A 76-year-old man with abdominal aortic aneurysm, 7.1 cm in diameter and aneurysm of the right common iliac artery, 3.2 cm in diameter was admitted to our Department with abdominal pain. The patient had no chance of having open repair of abdominal aortic aneurysm because of high perioperative risk (cardiac ejection fraction of 23%, chronic pulmonary obstructive disease). Multislice computed angiography also revealed a large inferior mesenteric artery, 6mm in diameter with the origin in thrombus of aneurysm. We decided to repair abdominal aortic aneurysm with GORE EXCLUDER stent-graft with crossed right hypogastric, but first we decided to embolize the inferior mesenteric artery. Angiography was performed through the right femoral approach and the good Riolan arcade was found. After that the inferior mesenteric artery was embolized with two coils, 5 mm in diameter, at the origin of artery in aneurysm thrombus. At the end of procedure, abdominal aortic aneurysm was repaired with GORE stent-graft, and the control angiography was performed. There was no endoleak, and the Riolan arcade was very good. The patient was discharged after 5 days. There were no signs of ischemia of the left colon, and peristaltic was excellent. Control multislice computed angiography was done after 1 and 3 months. There were no signs of endoleak. On the control colonoscopy there were no signs of ischemia of the colon. CONCLUSION Endovascular repair of symptomatic abdominal aortic aneurysm in high risk patients with preoperative embolization of large branch is the best choice to prevent rupture of abdominal aortic aneurysm and to prevent type II endoleak.