Absent right common carotid artery with stenting of symptomatic internal carotid artery stenosis.

Absent common carotid artery with independent origin of internal and external carotid arteries from the subclavian artery is a rare but recognized phenomenon. We describe one such case with an associated symptomatic proximal high-grade stenosis of the right internal carotid artery. The abnormal carotid anatomy was not initially well appreciated, resulting in a failed surgical exploration and subsequent successful endovascular carotid stenting. To our knowledge, this is the first reported case of carotid stent in a right internal carotid artery originating from the subclavian artery.

Treatment of a large pulmonary artery pseudoaneurysm secondary to fungal infection using Amplatzer plugs: New embolisation devices for the management of haemoptysis.

Pulmonary artery pseudoaneurysms (PAP) may result in life threatening haemoptysis but are fortunately uncommon. Most are caused by trauma, iatrogenic injury or infection. We describe a case of large PAP secondary to fungal infection in an immunocompromised patient, which was successfully treated percutaneously using Amplatzer embolisation plugs. The technical considerations and advantages of these new devices are explained.

Stent implantation for acute iliac artery occlusions: initial experience.

PURPOSE: Treatment options for acute occlusion of the iliac arteries include surgical thrombectomy, surgical bypass, and endovascular interventions such as thrombolysis and mechanical thrombectomy with or without adjunctive angioplasty or stent implantation. Acute lesions are not usually treated by stent implantation for fear of distal embolism. The purpose of this study was to retrospectively review a single-center experience of primary iliac stent implantation for acute ischemia secondary to acute thrombosis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Between April 2004 and August 2005, seven patients (five men and two women; mean age, 69.9 y; range, 53-93 y) underwent iliac stent implantation for the acute onset (within 12 days before presentation) of ipsilateral ischemic symptoms. Diagnostic angiography revealed occlusion of the common and external iliac arteries (n = 3) or external iliac artery (n = 4). Patients with rest pain (n = 6) were treated with unfractionated heparin. RESULTS: All acute occlusions were traversed by the guide wire with relative ease. Recanalization with stent implantation was successful in all cases without distal embolization. Five patients showed noticeable clinical improvement. Two elderly patients with isolated patent profunda segments with no demonstrable distal runoff vessels did not have long-term clinical improvement despite successful iliac recanalization. CONCLUSIONS: This small case series suggests that primary stent implantation for acute iliac occlusions with a patent common femoral artery under intravenous heparin protection may be a reasonable endovascular alternative to thrombolysis for patients who cannot tolerate the time delay to achieve thrombolysis or who have contraindications to thrombolysis. The safety of this technique may be comparable to that of primary stent implantation for chronic occlusions, but larger series would be necessary to confirm this.