Presence of a patent pedal arch is the primary predictor of transmetatarsal amputation healing and limb salvage.

OBJECTIVE: Transmetatarsal amputation (TMA) is a durable and important functional limb salvage option. We have presented our results in identifying the angiographic predictors of TMA healing using single-institution retrospective data. METHODS: Consecutive patients within our institution who had undergone TMA and lower extremity arteriography from 2012 to 2020 were included. Patients whose TMA had healed were compared with those whose TMA had not healed. Using pre- and perioperative patient factors, in addition to the Global Limb Anatomic Staging System (GLASS) and evaluation of the tibial runoff vessels, multivariate analysis was used to define the predictors of TMA healing at 30 days and 1 year. For those patients who had undergone an intervention after TMA, including repeat interventions, the postintervention GLASS stage was calculated. All patients were followed up by the vascular surgeon using standard ultrasound surveillance and clinical examinations. Once the predictors had been identified, an analysis was performed to correlate the 30-day and 1-year limb salvage rates. RESULTS: A total of 89 patients had met the inclusion criteria for the study period. No difference was found in the GLASS femoropopliteal or infrapopliteal stages for those with a healed TMA and those without. After multivariate regression analysis, the presence of a patent pedal arch vs a nonintact arch had a 5.5 greater odds of TMA healing at 30 days but not at 1 year. Additionally, the presence of a patent arch was strongly associated with limb salvage at both 30 days (86% vs 49%; P < .01) and 1 year (79% vs 49%; P < .01). CONCLUSIONS: In the present series of patients who had undergone TMA and arteriography, with appropriate GLASS staging, we found patency of the pedal arch was a significant predictor of healing and limb salvage. The GLASS femoropopliteal and infrapopliteal stages did not predict for TMA healing.

Dependent functional status rather than age is a better predictor of adverse outcomes after excision of an infected abdominal aortic graft.

OBJECTIVE: The optimal management of infected abdominal aortic grafts is complete surgical excision plus in situ or extra-anatomic revascularization in patients who can tolerate this morbid operation. In addition to using age and the presence of comorbidities for risk assessment, physicians form a global clinical impression when deciding whether to offer excision or to manage conservatively. Functional status is a distinct objective measure that can inform this decision. This study examines the relative impact of age and functional status on outcomes of infected abdominal aortic graft excision to guide surgical decision-making. METHODS: Current Procedural Terminology code 35907 was used to identify patients undergoing excision of infected abdominal aortic graft in the 2005 to 2017 American College of Surgeons - National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP) database. Patients were stratified by the upper age quartile (75 years old) as a cutoff, and then by functional status, independent vs dependent (as defined by NSIQIP). The patients were then stratified into four groups: Younger (<75)/Independent, Younger (<75)/Dependent, Older (≥75)/Independent, and Older (≥75)/Dependent. Outcomes measured included 30-day mortality and major organ-system dysfunction. RESULTS: There were 814 patients who underwent infected abdominal aortic graft excision: 508 patients (62%) were Younger/Independent, 89 patients (11%) were Younger/Dependent, 176 patients (22%) were Older/Independent, and 41 patients (5%) were Older/Dependent. There was no statistically significant difference in 30-day mortality for Younger/Dependent (odds ratio [OR], 1.66; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.90-3.09; P = .536) or Older/Independent (OR, 1.31; 95% CI, 0.78-2.19; P = .311) patients when compared with Younger/Independent patients, which suggests that neither old age nor dependent functional status by itself adversely affects mortality. However, when both factors were present, Older/Dependent patients had three times higher mortality when compared with Younger/Independent patients (41.5% vs 13.4%, respectively; OR, 3.13; 95% CI, 1.46-6.71; P = .003). Furthermore, as long as patients presented with independent functional status, old age by itself did not adversely affect major organ-system dysfunction (ORs for Older/Independent vs Younger/Independent were 0.76 [P = .454], 1.04 [P = .874], and 0.90 [P = .692] for cardiac, pulmonary, and renal complications, respectively). On the contrary, even in younger patients, dependent functional status was significantly associated with higher pulmonary complications (Younger/Dependent vs Younger/Independent: OR, 2.22; 95% CI, 1.33-3.73; P = .002) and higher rates of unplanned reoperation (OR, 2.67; 95% CI, 1.62-4.41; P < .0001). CONCLUSIONS: Dependent functional status has significant association with adverse outcomes after excision of infected abdominal aortic grafts, whereas old age alone does not. Therefore, this procedure could be considered in appropriately selected elderly patients with otherwise good functional status. However, caution should be applied in dependent patients regardless of age due to the risk of pulmonary complications.

Carotid endarterectomy for asymptomatic carotid stenosis is safe in octogenarians.

OBJECTIVE: Carotid endarterectomy (CEA) is the gold standard to prevent a recurrent stroke in symptomatic patients with carotid stenosis. However, in the modern era, the benefit of CEA in asymptomatic octogenarian patients has come into question. This study investigates real-world outcomes of CEA in asymptomatic octogenarians. METHODS: Patients who underwent CEA for asymptomatic carotid stenosis were identified in the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program CEA-targeted database from 2012 to 2017. They were stratified into two groups: octogenarians (≥80 years old) and younger patients (<80 years old). The 30-day outcomes evaluated included mortality and major morbidities such as stroke, cardiac events, pulmonary, and renal dysfunction. Multivariable logistic regression was used for data analysis. RESULTS: We identified 13,846 patients with asymptomatic carotid stenosis who underwent an elective CEA including 2509 octogenarians and 11,337 younger patients. Octogenarians were more likely to be female and less likely to be diabetic or smokers compared with younger patients. There was no difference in preoperative use of statins or antiplatelet therapy. Examination of 30-day outcomes revealed that octogenarians had slightly higher mortality (1.2% vs 0.5%; odds ratio, 2.1; 95% confidence interval, 1.3-3.4; P < .01), and a higher risk of return to the operating room (3.3% vs 2.3%; odds ratio, 1.4; 95% confidence interval, 1.1-1.9; P = .01). However, there was no difference between octogenarians and younger patients in adverse cardiac events or pulmonary, renal, or wound complications. Twenty-five octogenarian and 138 younger patients suffered from periprocedural stroke at a similar rate (1.0% vs 1.2%; P = .54). Stroke/death occurred for 51 of 2509 patients (2.0%) in the older group and 184 of 11,337 patients (1.6%) in the younger group, a difference that was not significant (P = .15). CONCLUSIONS: The 30-day outcomes of CEA in octogenarians are comparable with those in younger patients. Although the octogenarians had slightly higher mortality than younger patients, the absolute risk of mortality was still low at 1.2%. Therefore, CEA is safe in asymptomatic carotid stenosis in octogenarians. Overall life expectancy and preoperative functional status, rather than age, should be the major determinants in the decision to operate.

Preservation of pelvic perfusion with iliac branch devices does not decrease ischemic colitis compared with hypogastric embolization in endovascular abdominal aortic aneurysm repair.

OBJECTIVE: Ischemic colitis is a rare but devastating complication of endovascular repair of infrarenal abdominal aortic aneurysms. Although it is rare (0.9%) in standard endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR), the incidence increases to 2% to 3% in EVAR with hypogastric artery embolization (HAE). This study investigated whether preservation of pelvic perfusion with iliac branch devices (IBDs) decreases the incidence of ischemic colitis. METHODS: We used the targeted EVAR module in the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program database to identify patients undergoing EVAR of infrarenal abdominal aortic aneurysm from 2012 to 2017. The cohort was further stratified into average-risk and high-risk groups. Average-risk patients were those who underwent elective repair for sizes of the aneurysms, whereas high-risk patients were repaired emergently for indications other than asymptomatic aneurysms. Within these groups, we examined the 30-day outcomes of standard EVARs, EVAR with HAE, and EVAR with IBDs. The primary outcome was the incidence of ischemic colitis. Secondary outcomes included mortality, major organ dysfunction, thromboembolism, length of stay, and return to the operating room. The χ2 test, Fisher exact test, Kruskal-Wallis test, and multivariate regression models were used for data analysis. RESULTS: There were 11,137 patients who had infrarenal EVAR identified. We designated this the all-risk cohort, which included 9263 EVAR, 531 EVAR-HAE, and 1343 EVAR-IBD procedures. These were further stratified into 9016 cases with average-risk patients and 2121 cases with high-risk patients. In the average-risk group, 7482 had EVAR, 411 had EVAR-HAE, and 1123 had EVAR-IBD. In the high-risk group, 1781 had EVAR, 120 had EVAR-HAE, and 220 had EVAR-IBD. There was no significant difference in 30-day outcomes (including ischemic colitis) between EVAR, EVAR-HAE, and EVAR-IBD in the all-risk and high-risk groups. In the average-risk cohort, EVAR-HAE was associated with a higher mortality rate than EVAR (2.2% vs 1.0%; adjusted odds ratio, 2.58; P = .01). Although EVAR-IBD was not superior to EVAR-HAE in 30-day mortality, major organ dysfunction, or ischemic colitis in this average-risk cohort, EVAR-IBD exhibited a trend toward lower mortality compared with EVAR-HAE in this cohort, but it was not statistically significant (1.0% vs 2.2%; adjusted odds ratio, 0.42; P = .07). CONCLUSIONS: Ischemic colitis is a rare complication of EVAR. HAE does not appear to increase the risk of ischemic colitis, and preservation of pelvic perfusion with IBDs does not decrease its incidence. Although HAE is associated with significantly higher mortality than standard EVAR in average-risk patients, the preservation of pelvic perfusion with IBDs does not appear to improve mortality over HAE.

Management of bilateral renal artery aneurysms with laparoscopic nephrectomy, ex vivo reconstruction, and autotransplantation in a woman planning pregnancy.

Renal artery aneurysms (RAAs) are rare, with an estimated incidence of 0.01% to 0.97%. These aneurysms are often asymptomatic, although they occasionally manifest with hypertension, back pain, hematuria, or rupture. Despite limited evidence guiding treatment, women of childbearing age are consistently offered treatment because of the high risk of rupture. We present a case of a woman planning pregnancy with bilateral RAAs after failed endovascular management. She underwent bilateral laparoscopic nephrectomy, ex vivo reconstruction, and autotransplantation for treatment of her aneurysms. This appears to be safe and effective for treatment of RAAs and should be considered in similar patients.

Preservation of renal perfusion by hepatorenal and splenorenal bypasses before explantation of an infected abdominal aortic endograft.

We report the case of an 82-year-old patient with an infected abdominal aortic endograft who presented with a right psoas abscess and lumbar osteomyelitis. The psoas abscess was drained percutaneously. Fluid obtained grew Fusobacterium nucleatum. The patient, an active and highly functional individual, wished to pursue definitive management. The infected endograft was surgically removed, and the aorta was ligated above the renal arteries after staged axillary-bifemoral, hepatorenal, and splenorenal bypasses.

Hypofractionated stereotactic radiosurgery for treatment of cerebral arteriovenous malformations: outcome analysis with use of the modified arteriovenous malformation scoring system.

Radiosurgery has long been an accepted modality for definitive treatment of cerebral arteriovenous malformations (AVM). Efforts to improve the therapeutic ratio for this indication include use of staged volume procedures and hypofractionation. This study reviews our experience with a cohort of patients treated with hypofractionated radiosurgery. Over a 3year period, 38 patients harboring 39 cerebral AVM were treated with hypofractionated stereotactic radiotherapy. Seventeen of these patients presented due to hemorrhage, four were asymptomatic unruptured lesions and the remainder were symptomatic unruptured lesions. The median AVM volume was 11.43 cc and median modified Radiosurgery-Based Arteriovenous Malformation Score (mRBAS) was 2.02. The median follow-up was 7.32years. Four patients harboring four AVM were lost to follow-up before a result could be ascertained leaving 35 AVM for analysis. Excellent outcomes (AVM obliteration without new deficits) occurred in 17 of 34 (50%) patients and in 18 of 35 (51%) AVM treated. AVM obliteration was seen in 26 of 35 (74%) lesions treated. Two patients died during the follow-up period (6%). A poor result (major deficit without obliteration) was seen in one patient. Of 19 patients harboring AVM with mRBAS >2.0, an excellent outcome was achieved in eight (42%). Hypofractionation for cerebral AVM can result in satisfactory obliteration rates, but with risk of significant complications commensurate with mRBAS. Further study of this technique will be needed to ascertain the degree of incremental improvement, if any, over other radiosurgery treatment methods.