New devices for a better endovascular approach.

The endovascular approach has known a great evolution in terms of vessel patency and treatment possibilities. Longer and more complex lesions with a difficult anatomy can be addressed by a range of endovascular tools. However, to maintain the patency of the treated lesion is the true challenge. In order to fulfill these long-term expectations, newer devices have been developed. The drug-coated balloon combines local drug uptake with no residual material after treatment. To maintain patency and prevent recoil of the arterial wall, the drug-eluting stent has been created to offer stent support with an antiproliferative drug. The main drawbacks of the drug-coated balloon and the drug-eluting stent are being addressed by the drug-eluting absorbable scaffold. The initial scaffolding support in combination with the drug release during a prolonged period, poses the same advantages while the scaffold is being metabolized over time. This continuing evolution in endovascular tools paves the way to an endovascular treatment for the majority of peripheral artery diseases.

Drug-eluting technologies in femoral artery lesions.

The treatment of femoropopliteal lesions has known an important evolution in the last years. An important limitation of current endovascular therapy remains the occurrence of restenosis. In order to minimize restenosis rates, drug eluting technologies are evolving. The use of drug-eluting stents (DES) in coronary arteries shows beneficial results, leading to investigation of DES in femoropopliteal arteries. In this article, we give an overview of current available data on treatment with drug eluting technologies in the superficial femoral artery (SFA). This paper summarizes also the current available data of the use of drug-coated balloons (DCB) in the femoropopliteal tract. Currently, no data are available on the use of DCB in long lesions. A drug eluting bioresorbable scaffold seems to be very promising in coronary arteries. The transfer to the peripheral area is nowadays ongoing. Which technique and device for which lesion and patient requires further investigation to build up a real evidence based SFA treatment strategy.

BRAVISSIMO: 12-month results from a large scale prospective trial.

The BRAVISSIMO study is a prospective, non-randomized, multi-center, multi-national, monitored trial, conducted at 12 hospitals in Belgium and 11 hospitals in Italy. This manuscript reports the findings up to the 12-month follow-up time point for both the TASC A&B cohort and the TASC C&D cohort. The primary endpoint of the study is primary patency at 12 months, defined as a target lesion without a hemodynamically significant stenosis on Duplex ultrasound (>50%, systolic velocity ratio no greater than 2.0) and without target lesion revascularization (TLR) within 12 months. Between July 2009 and September 2010, 190 patients with TASC A or TASC B aortoiliac lesions and 135 patients with TASC C or TASC D aortoiliac lesions were included. The demographic data were comparable for the TASC A/B cohort and the TASC C/D cohort. The number of claudicants was significantly higher in the TASC A/B cohort, The TASC C/D cohort contains more CLI patients. The primary patency rate for the total patient population was 93.1%. The primary patency rates at 12 months for the TASC A, B, C and D lesions were 94.0%, 96.5%, 91.3% and 90.2% respectively. No statistical significant difference was shown when comparing these groups. Our findings confirm that endovascular therapy, and more specifically primary stenting, is the preferred treatment for patients with TASC A, B, C and D aortoiliac lesions. We notice similar endovascular results compared to surgery, however without the invasive character of surgery.

Refining stent technologies for femoral interventions.

Stents were created as a mechanical scaffold to prevent vessel recoil and luminal renarrowing after percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA). In femoropopliteal arteries, indication for stent implantation remains a topic much debated on, especially in long lesion configurations. Ever since the first stents were introduced on the market, in-stent restenosis (ISR) has been an important issue. The evolution in stent design has known a major progression in the last decades from the first generation of stents, plagued with high fracture rates and low primary patency rates, to the design of newer stents to tackle these outcomes. More flexible and longer stents decreased the high fracture rates and drug-eluting stents offered a solution to the restenosis rates by local drug application. The difficult recrossibility of the lesion because of the presence of a permanent vascular scaffold is an obstacle that the drug-coated balloon (DCB) overcomes. Future perspectives in the treatment of femoropopliteal lesions are found in the bioresorbable stent implantation. The bioresorbable stent combines the advantages of a drug-eluting scaffolding stent without the remainder of a foreign object in the long-term. Further investigations in this area will eventually evolve in the creation of a superior endovascular treatment modality with high long-term patency rates and minimal detriments.

In lower extremity PTAs intraluminal is better than subintimal.

With subintimal recanalization, a channel is deliberately created by dissecting the vessel wall in order to replace the native occluded lumen. This is opposed to intraluminal recanalization, where passage of an arterial obstructive lesion is performed by central luminal navigation. Both intraluminal and subintimal treatment has its proponents and adversaries. The appreciation of an investigator for a certain technique is commonly related to the training received and the personal experience. Yet, the intraluminal technique uses the clinically preferred route for adjunctive treatment, such as balloon angioplasty or stent deployment. A wide variety of devices designed to obtain intraluminal lesion passage is available and is currently being used in vascular centers worldwide. With intraluminal techniques, success rates of up to 95% have been reported.

Evolution in quality of life and epidemiological impact after endovascular treatment of chronic cerebro-spinal venous insufficiency in patients with multiple sclerosis.

BACKGROUND: We report the outcome of 67 patients after endovascular treatment of chronic cerebro-spinal venous insufficiency in patients with multiple sclerosis. Material and methods For evaluating outcome, patients were divided into three groups with respective outcome after three, six and twelve months. Assessment of outcome was done by a disease-specific quality-of-life score that reflects the physical health (physical health composite, PHC) and mental health (mental health composite, MHC) by a score. RESULTS: Improvement in PHC was significant (P < 0.05) in the three- and six-month groups. Improvement in MHC was only significant (P < 0.05) in the three-month group. CONCLUSION: In conclusion, we can state that the result of endovascular treatment seems to decay although the baseline is still higher than preoperative. To confirm this finding, this study needs to be reproduced in a larger patient population.

Off-pump coronary surgery: surgical strategy for the high-risk patient.

OBJECTIVE: In a retrospective study, we compared two groups of consecutive patients operated by the same team during the year 2000 for coronary artery disease with the use of extracorporeal circulation (group 1, n=230) or on the beating heart using the Octopus II plus stabiliser (group 2, n=228). High-risk patients were identified by a EuroSCORE plus 6. EuroSCORE definitions and predicted risk models were utilized to compare the variables of the groups. METHODS: There were no significant differences between the preoperative variables of the groups in age, gender, left ventricular function, diabetes and peripheral vascular and renal disease as is indicated by the Euroscore (resp. 4.7/5.1 p=0.107). Calcification of the ascending aorta and chronic obstructive lung disease were statistically significant more prevalent in the beating heart group. No differences in preoperative variables in the high-risk patients group (Euroscore 8.5/8.1 p=0.356) except for calcification of the ascending aorta. RESULTS: All patients underwent a full revascularisation through a midline sternotomy. Significant more distal anastomoses were performed in group 1 (3.7 per patient (1-6)) with regard to group 2 (2.9 per patient (1-6)). Anesthesia, postoperative treatment and follow up were equal for both groups. A significant lower incidence of atrial fibrillation (p=0.010), shorter ICU stay (p=0.031) and renal insufficiency (p=0.033) was reported in group 2. In the low risk group, we could not diagnose any difference between the two groups, except for atrial fibrillation. The benefits of the beating heart surgery however were more pronounced in the high-risk patient as is indicated by a significant reduction of the ICU stay by 1 day (3.5d/2.5d (p=0.028)), better preservation of the renal function (p=0.017) and a significant reduction of the length of hospital stay by more than two days (p=0.040). A lower incidence of atrial fibrillation, however not significant. CONCLUSION: In our experience, beating heart surgery is a safe alternative for conventional coronary heart surgery. High-risk patients do benefit most from this technique. It became our first choice in the elderly patient and patients presenting with higher co-morbidities.

Segmental porcine pancreatic autotransplantation as model for pancreas preservation studies using two different techniques for vascular reconstruction.

Pancreatic segmental autotransplantation in the pig has been considered an attractive model to study several aspects of pancreas transplantation because of the absence of rejections related to the immune system. However, the frequent presence of anatomical variations in the vascular supply of the left pancreatic segment in the pig makes this model difficult, impairing the access for vascular flushing and revascularization in pancreatic autotransplantation. We assessed pancreatic vascular anatomy of 71 Landrace pigs: group I (G1, n = 32) transplanted after direct reconstruction of the hepatic flow; and group II (G2, n = 39) transplanted after hepatic-celiac arterial reconstruction (HECAR) with an iliac vascular graft between the celiac trunk and the hepatic artery. HTK (histidine-tryptophan-ketoglutarate; Custodiol) and UW (University of Wisconsin; Viaspan) solutions were used. In total, 23 technically successfully transplanted animals (HTK = 15; UW = 8) after 24 h of cold storage were studied. Reconstruction time was longer in G2 than in G1 (p = .04). Thrombosis of the reconstructed hepatic artery occurred more in G1 than in G2 (45% vs. 8%, respectively, p = .013). Pancreatic arterial thrombosis was noticed in 10 animals in G1 (32%) and in 2 in G2 (5%) (p = .026). Ninety-four percent of pancreas grafts were suitable for cold storage study in G2 versus 45% for G1 (p < .001). No differences were noticed in K values, weight of transplanted grafts, preoperative and 24 h postoperative glycemia, for both preservation solutions. Segmental pancreatic autotransplantation can be successfully performed for cold preservation studies. A high percentage of pancreas useable for transplantation can be achieved using hepato-celiac arterial reconstruction. HTK solution is suitable for flushing and 24 h of preservation for pancreatic grafts in the porcine model.

Functional, life-threatening disorders and splenectomy following liver transplantation.

UNLABELLED: Splenectomy (SPL) in cirrhotic patients undergoing liver transplantation (LTx) may resolve specific problems related to the procedure itself, in case of functional and life-threatening clinical situations often occurring as a result of liver cirrhosis and portal hypertension. METHOD: A single-center experience of ten splenectomies in a series of 180 consecutive adult liver transplant patients over a period of 6 yr is reported. The mean patient age was 46.8 +/- 9.5 yr (range 25 57 yr). Indications for SPL were post-operative massive ascitic fluid loss (n = 3), severe thrombocytopenia (n = 3), acute intra-abdominal hemorrhage (n = 2), infarction of the spleen (n = 1), and multiple splenic artery aneurysms (n = 1). RESULTS: Extreme ascites production due to functional graft congestion disappeared post-SPL, with an improvement of the hepatic and renal functions. SPL was also effective in cases of thrombocytopenia persistence post-LTx, leading to an increase in the platelet count after about 1 wk. Bleeding episodes related to left-sided portal hypertension or trauma were also resolved. The rejection rate during hospitalization was 0%, and no other episodes were recorded in the course of the long-term follow-up. However, sepsis with a fatal outcome occurred in 4 patients, i.e. between 2 and 3 wk post-SPL in three cases and 1 yr after the procedure as a result of pneumococcal infection in the last case. Fatal traumatic cranial injury occurred 3 yr post-LTx in another case. Five patients (50%) are still alive and asymptomatic after a median follow-up period of 36 months. CONCLUSION: The lowering of the portal flow appears to resolve unexplained post-operative ascitic fluid loss as a result of functional graft congestion following LTx. However, because of the enhanced risk of SPL-related sepsis, a partial splenic embolization (PSE) or a spleno-renal shunt could be used as an alternative procedure because it allows us to preserve the immunological function of the spleen. SPL is indicated in case of post-transplant bleeding due to left-sided portal hypertension and trauma, spleen infarction, and to enable prevention of hemorrhage in liver transplant patients with multiple splenic artery aneurysms. Severe and persistent thrombocytopenia could be treated with PSE. Because the occurrence of fatal sepsis post-SPL is a major complication in LTx, functional disorders, such as ascites and thrombocytopenia, should be treated with a more conservative approach.

Cold preservation of the porcine pancreas with histidine-tryptophan-ketoglutarate solution.

BACKGROUND: Histidine-tryptophan-ketoglutarate (HTK) has been used for experimental and clinical cardiac, renal, and liver transplantation. No experience exists in either experimental or clinical pancreas transplantation. METHODS: In the present study, the solution was employed to flush segmental pancreatic grafts and to autotransplant the grafts after 24, 48, and 72 hr of cold storage in a porcine model. The results were compared to those obtained from animals receiving pancreatic grafts flushed and preserved with UW (University of Wisconsin) solution. RESULTS: A total of 10 landrace pigs received a graft stored with HTK solution for 24 hr, and 6 animals received a graft stored with UW solution for 24 hr. Daily blood glucose levels were normoglycemic (i.e., blood glucose < 150 mg/dl), and glucosuria was absent in all transplant animals. Intravenous glucose tolerance tests were comparable to two unoperated controls. Seven totally pancreatectomized, nontransplant diabetic controls exhibited daily hyperglycemia, glucosuria (i.e., > 1,000 mg/dl) and highly impaired intravenous glucose tolerance tests (mean K-values of -0.52+/-0.19 vs. -1.25+/-0.46 for HTK, -1.30+/-0.81 for UW, and -1.53+/-0.81 for controls, P-value vs. diabetic <0.01). The changes in wet weight between flushing and reperfusion were +2.22+/-2.84 g for HTK and -1.40+/-2.70 g for UW stored grafts (P=0.034). After 48 hr of storage with HTK, 4/17 grafts were functioning and 1/11 recipients of grafts stored with UW were normoglycemic. All grafts stored for 72 hr in either HTK (n=3) or UW (n=3) uniformly failed to render the recipients normoglycemic. CONCLUSIONS: It is concluded that preservation of segmental pancreatic autografts for 24 hr with HTK solution provides reliable graft function, as does preservation with UW solution associated with an increase in wet weight after HTK preservation. Cold preservation with HTK and UW is feasible for 48 hr; however, the success rate is equally reduced with HTK and UW solution. Cold storage for 72 hr in either HTK or UW solution results in uniform graft failure in this model.