Percutaneous transluminal angioplasty of transplant renal artery stenosis.

INTRODUCTION: This study aimed to assess the outcome of percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA) as the primary treatment for transplant renal artery stenosis (TxRAS). MATERIALS AND METHODS: A retrospective review of PTA of TxRAS from April 1999 to December 2008 was performed. Twenty-seven patients (17 males (M):10 females (F)) with the mean age of 49.5 years underwent PTA of TxRAS in the review period. Indications for PTA were suboptimal control of hypertension (n=12), impaired renal function (n=6) and both suboptimal control of hypertension and impaired renal function (n=9). All patients had doppler ultrasound scans prior to their PTA. In addition, 5 of these patients had computed tomography angiography (CTA) and another 7 had magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) evaluation. Mean follow-up period was 57.0 months (range, 7 to 108 months). RESULTS: The stenotic lesions were located proximal to the anastomosis (n=2), at the anastomosis (n=15), and distal to the anastomosis (n=14). Technical success rate was 96.3%. One case was complicated by extensive dissection during PTA, resulting in subsequent graft failure. The overall clinical success rate was 76.9%. Seven out of 26 patients had restenoses (26.9% of cases). These were detected at a mean of 14.3 months post angioplasty (range, 5 to 38 months). All 7 patients underwent a second PTA successfully. Three of these patients required more than 1 repeat PTA. CONCLUSION: PTA is safe and effective in the management of symptomatic TxRAS and should be the primary treatment of choice. Close surveillance for restenosis is required and when diagnosed, re-angioplasty can be performed.

Diagnosis of anomalous origin and course of coronary arteries using non-contrast cardiac CT scan and detection features.

BACKGROUND: Anomalous origin and course of coronary arteries (AOCA) is a potential cause of sudden cardiac death. Coronary CT angiography (coronary CTA) enables detailed 3-dimensional visualization of AOCA. Data are limited about the diagnostic performance of noncontrast cardiac CT obtained during coronary calcium scan for detecting AOCA. OBJECTIVE: We assessed the feasibility of using noncontrast cardiac CT for detecting AOCA. METHODS: Participants had noncontrast cardiac CT and coronary CTA performed (2005-2010). Cases had AOCA as diagnosed with coronary CTA. Controls were without AOCA. Noncontrast cardiac CT images were independently evaluated for AOCA by a cardiologist and a radiologist blinded to prior AOCA diagnosis. Detection features to assist AOCA diagnosis on noncontrast cardiac CT were evaluated. RESULTS: The study enrolled 54 cases and 155 controls. Sensitivity and specificity for detecting AOCA were 82% (95% CI, 69%-90%) and 90% (95% CI, 85%-94%) for observer 1, respectively, and 82% (95% CI, 69%-90%) and 85% (95% CI, 79%-90%) for observer 2, respectively. Average sensitivity and specificity were 82% and 88%, respectively. Interobserver agreement (Cohen κ) was κ = 0.65 (95% CI, 0.53-0.76). Inability to visualize the right coronary artery (RCA) origin at the right sinus significantly predicted RCA anomaly. Inability to visualize the left main coronary artery branching point into the left anterior descending coronary artery and the left circumflex coronary artery significantly predicted left coronary artery anomaly. CONCLUSION: Noncontrast cardiac CT in conjunction with detection features has the potential for use in the diagnosis of AOCA. A prospective study is needed for validation and to determine the modality's accuracy for detecting AOCA.

Stent-assisted percutaneous angioplasty for extra-cranial carotid disease:experience at Singapore General Hospital.

INTRODUCTION: This study aims to analyse the results of carotid stenting in a tertiary referral centre in Singapore. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Retrospective analysis of all carotid artery stenting (CAS) cases in a single centre from March 1997 to December 2008 was performed. Sixty successful procedures were performed in 61 patients, with bilateral stenting in 1 patient, and 2 failed procedures. The majority were Chinese (78.7%) and males (77.0%), with a high proportion having hypertension (82.0%) and hypercholesterolaemia (78.7%). The majority (91.8%) of patients were high surgical risk candidates, primarily due to cardiac risk factors. Ten patients (16.4%) had prior neck irradiation for nasopharyngeal carcinoma, and 3 patients each (4.9%) had previous endarterectomy and contralateral occlusion. A distal embolic protection device was used in 71.7% of cases. RESULTS: Technical success was 96.8%. The 30-day stroke and death rate was 13.8%, comparable to reported results for this high surgical risk population. CONCLUSION: CAS is a technically feasible and a relatively safe alternative to endarterectomy to treat extracranial carotid stenosis, especially in patients who are inoperable or at high surgical risk.

Endovascular treatment of gastroduodenal artery aneurysm.

Gastroduodenal artery aneurysms are rare. Common causes include blunt trauma, pancreatitis, infection, autoimmune disorders, vascular intervention and surgery. We report 2 patients with gastroduodenal artery aneurysms, the first being an idiopathic true aneurysm and the next, a pseudoaneurysm resulting from pancreatitis. Diagnoses were made by computed tomography scans with successful embolization of both patients. Treatment of gastroduodenal artery aneurysms includes surgery, endovascular techniques or observation. Embolization is a feasible option for gastroduodenal artery aneurysms and pseudoaneurysms.

Renal artery stump to inferior vena cava fistula: unusual clinical presentation and transcatheter embolization with the Amplatzer vascular plug.

Fistulous communication between the renal artery stump and inferior vena cava following nephrectomy is rare. We describe the case of a 52-year-old man with a fistula detected on investigation for hemolytic anemia in the postoperative period. The patient had had a nephrectomy performed 2 weeks prior to presentation for blunt abdominal trauma. The fistula was successfully occluded percutaneously using an Amplatzer vascular plug. The patient recovered completely and was discharged 2 weeks later.