Short non-patch arteriotomy in carotid endarterectomy.

BACKGROUND: Several techniques of carotid endarterectomy have been described and currently used in clinical practice. We describe and report the midterm results of short non-patch arteriotomy technique. METHODS: We analyzed patients treated at our Department for carotid artery stenosis. Main outcomes were mortality, stroke, restenosis and local complications. The technique consists in a short longitudinal arteriotomy from common carotid artery to internal (ICA), followed by thromboendarterectomy in carotid bulb with a blunt spatula, cutting the more proximal edge of the plaque. A semi-eversion is then performed in the ICA to fully remove carotid plaque. RESULTS: In the period between years 2011-2016 we performed 476 carotid endarterectomies of which 436 with short non-patch arteriotomy. Mean clamping time was 15.5±5.7 minutes. In-hospital complications were: three cases of stroke (0.7%), all with complete recovery, four transient cerebral ischemia (0.9%), 14 cervical hematomas (3.2%), and four cranial nerve injuries (0.9%), which was in all cases completely regressed. At two years, we report six cases of carotid restenosis (1.4%), all treated with carotid stenting. CONCLUSIONS: Short non-patch carotid endarterectomy technique resulted in a low mid-term rates of stroke, restenosis, and cranial nerve injuries compared to other surgical series in the literature.

Open Surgery and Endovascular Techniques in Treatment of Acute Abdominal Arteriovenous Fistulas.

Acute abdominal arteriovenous fistulas in the setting of ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysms are a life-threatening condition; thus, a prompt diagnosis is required for proper treatment. Open, endovascular, and hybrid repair have been proposed for their management, with pros and cons for each method. In particular, the evolution of endoluminal techniques guarantees an increasing feasibility of these procedures, and a significant reduction in morbidity and mortality rates was usually associated with open surgery. Nevertheless, some concerns still remain regarding the midterm and long-term follow-up. The aim of this article was to review and compare the reported clinical and technical results of conventional open surgery and endoluminal techniques in this scenario and to report the case of an acute aorto-iliac fistula due to a ruptured common iliac artery aneurysm into the iliac vein that was managed by endovascular repair at our institution.

The use of EndoAnchors in endovascular repair of abdominal aortic aneurysms with challenging proximal neck: Single-centre experience.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to present a single-centre experience with EndoAnchors in patients who underwent endovascular repair for abdominal aortic aneurysms with challenging proximal neck, both in the prevention and treatment of endograft migration and type Ia endoleaks. METHODS: We retrospectively analysed 17 consecutive patients treated with EndoAnchors between June 2015 and May 2018 at our institution. EndoAnchors were applied during the initial endovascular aneurysm repair procedure (primary implant) to prevent proximal neck complications in difficult anatomies (nine patients), and in the follow-up after aneurysm exclusion (secondary implant) to correct type Ia endoleak and/or stent-graft migration (eight patients). RESULTS: Mean time for anchors implant was 23 min (range 12-41), with a mean of 5 EndoAnchors deployed per patient. Six patients in the secondary implant group required a proximal cuff due to stent-graft migration ≥10 mm. Technical success was achieved in all cases, with no complications related to deployment of the anchors. At a median follow-up of 13 months (range 4-39, interquartile range 9-20), there were no aneurysm-related deaths or aneurysm ruptures, and all patients were free from reinterventions. CT-scan surveillance showed no evidence of type Ia endoleak, anchors dislodgement or stent-graft migration, with a mean reduction of aneurysm diameter of 0.4 mm (range 0-19); there was no sac growth or aortic neck enlargement in any case. CONCLUSIONS: EndoAnchors can be safely used in the prevention and treatment of type Ia endoleaks in patients with challenging aortic necks, with good results in terms of sac exclusion and diameter reduction in the mid-term follow-up.

Late-Onset Paraplegia After Endovascular Repair of Type B Aortic Dissection Managed by Urgent Left Subclavian Artery Revascularization: A Case Report.

Spinal cord ischemia is one of the most unpredictable and feared complications after open surgical or endovascular thoracic aortic repair. Protection of collateral network branches that contribute blood supply to spinal cord is fundamental in the prevention of this catastrophic condition. We report the case of a patient who underwent emergent endovascular treatment for a type B aortic dissection complicated by rupture of the false lumen, with intentional coverage of the left subclavian artery without revascularization. The patient developed paraplegia on the 10th postoperative day, which did not significantly improve with immediate cerebrospinal fluid drainage but fully recovered after urgent left carotid-subclavian bypass.

An update in varicose vein pathology after ten years of endovenous laser therapy (EVLT) with a 980 nm diode laser: clinical experience of a single center.

AIM: To show our experience in the surgical treatment of superficial vein insufficiency of the lower limbs. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Since 2002 we have performed 659 procedures of endovascular laser therapy (EVLT) (group A) in the treatment of chronic venous insufficiency of the great saphenous vein using a 980 nm diode laser. A closely matched group of 100 patients (50 Group A, 50 Group B) with homogeneous clinical findings (CEAP classification) was controlled with a mean follow-up of 18 months in our more recent experience (3 years). Most patients operated on in this period were lost to follow-up. RESULTS: The Final results showed that EVLT can be used only in a specific selected group of cases based on anatomy and hemodynamics and while 980 nm EVLT could not be selected as the best treatment for this pathology, it could be placed side by side with conventional therapy. CONCLUSIONS: In our one year's more recent experience, we observed an increased number of patients treated with conventional therapy. The development of new laser tools (new wavelengths and continuous radial laser) and the improvement of clinical follow up may lead us to a more correct application of EVLT in the absence of randomized trials because of widespread clinical findings and poor pathological follow-up of this approach to superficial venous insufficiency.

Prediction of clinical outcome using p16INK4a immunocytochemical expression in low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions and high-risk HPV-positive atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance in patients with and without colposcopic evident cervical disease.

p16INK4a as a diagnostic marker of a cervical intraepithelial neoplasia of grade 2+ (CIN2+) in atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance (ASC-US) and low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (LSIL) cytological samples has been analyzed, but has not yet been included in clinical routine practice. One hundred and ninety-one patients with an abnormal Pap test (84 ASC-US and 107 LSILs) who underwent colposcopy were selected for this study. At enrollment, 96 patients (Group 1) had a positive colposcopy and therefore underwent a cervical biopsy, while 95 (Group 2) had a negative colposcopy and were followed up for up to 1 year. Both groups were tested for p16INK4a using immunocytochemical methods, and the p16INK4a results were correlated with histology or follow-up outcome. In Group 1 ASC-US cases, 82% of lesions less than CIN2 were p16INK4a-negative and all CIN2 cases were p16INK4a-positive (p=0.00044). In Group 1 LSIL cases, 71% of lesions less than CIN2 were p16INK4a-negative and 87% of CIN2/3 were p16INK4a-positive (p=0.00033). Seventy-seven percent of Group 2 ASC-US patients with a negative 1-year follow-up (NF-U) were p16INK4a-negative at enrollment, while all patients with positive follow-up (PF-U) were p16INK4a-positive (p=0.00113). In Group 2 LSIL cases, 83% of patients with NF-U were p16INK4a-negative, while 65% of patients with PF-U were p16INK4a-positive at enrollment (p=0.0014). In fact, 39% of the positive p16INK4a LSIL patients had CIN2+ histological lesions. The positive predictive value of p16INK4a for CIN2+ was 50% in ASC-US and 52% in LSIL cases; the negative predictive value was 100 and 94%, respectively. In conclusion, in our patients, a negative p16INK4a appears to be a marker of the absence of CIN3, while a positive p16INK4a can be correlated with the presence of histological CIN2+ found at enrollment or during the subsequent follow-up. Thus, its clinical predictive value is independent from the colposcopic aspect at enrollment.