Chimney technique for a solitary pelvic kidney.

The combination of a solitary pelvic kidney and an abdominal aortic aneurysm is extremely rare. We demonstrate a chimney graft implant in a patient with a solitary pelvic kidney. A 63-year-old man was diagnosed with an abdominal aortic aneurysm found incidentally. Preoperative computed tomography illustrated a fusiform abdominal aortic aneurysm accompanying a solitary ectopic kidney in the pelvis with an aberrant renal artery. A bifurcated endograft was implanted, and a covered stent graft was placed into the renal artery using the chimney technique. Good patency of the chimney graft was documented with early postoperative and first month scans. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of the chimney technique used for a solitary pelvic kidney.

Distal Perfusion With Modified Centrifugal Pump Circuit in Thoracic and Thoracoabdominal Aortic Aneurysm Repair.

OBJECTIVE: The left heart bypass is currently the most frequent adjunct to provide distal aortic perfusion during aortic clamping. However, closed-circuits cannot respond to sudden hemodynamic fluctuations during aortic clamping which may lead to complications. In this report, we aim to give the technical aspects of reservoir-added centrifugal pump circuit system, its implementation and the clinical outcomes. METHODS: Between 2002 and 2020, the data of 35 patients underwent aortic aneurysm repair with the use of modified pump circuit were analyzed. The mean age was 53.4 years (range 24-73) and 91.4% of all was male. Preoperative demographics, intraoperative pump data and postoperative clinical outcomes were reported. RESULTS: Thoracoabdominal incision was used in 22 patients (62.9%) and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) drainage catheter was placed in 15 patients (42.9%). The left inferior pulmonary vein for outflow and the left femoral artery for inflow cannulation were used preferably. Median duration of pump support was 50 mins (13-121) in the cohort. The median transfusion of red packed cells was 2 units. Renal failure was observed in two patients and permanent paraplegia in one patient. Only one patient died in the elective group (1/34) and one patient in the emergent. CONCLUSIONS: The reservoir-added centrifugal pump is an effective, practical, and flexible perfusion system which should be in the armamentarium of surgeons in order to solve difficult problems during open repair of descending and thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysms.

A sinus of valsalva aneurysm: more complicated than imagined.

Sinus of Valsalva aneurysms mostly remain silent. Here, we report a case with sinus of Valsalva aneurysm which caused right ventricular outflow obstruction and ruptured into the main pulmonary artery in the setting of DeBakey type I aortic dissection.

Malperfusion remains the major cause of mortality in proximal aortic operations.

BACKGROUND: This study was undertaken to identify the incremental risk factors for early mortality in operations for proximal aortic pathologies. METHODS: Between September 2000 and May 2010, 240 consecutive patients underwent replacement of various portions of the proximal aorta. Mean age was 56 ± 13 years (range 18 to 84) and female/male ratio was 3/7. Operations were performed emergently in 97, urgently in 21, and electively in 122 patients. Thirty-four patients had previous cardiac or aortic operations. Etiology was acute dissection in 102, chronic dissection in 41, degenerative aneurysm in 61, and other factors (endocarditis, pseudoaneurysm, aortitis, etc.) in 36 patients. The ascending aorta was replaced in all patients. In addition, the aortic arch was replaced in 20 and the root was replaced in 106 patients. RESULTS: The in-hospital mortality rate was 10.4% in the overall group (25/240), 21.6% in emergent cases (21/97), 9.5% in urgent cases (2/21), and 1.6% in elective cases (2/122). Morbidity rates were as follows: stroke 2.7%, temporary neurological dysfunction 13.3%, nonoliguric renal failure 3%, dialysis 5.4%, tracheostomy 3.3%, bleeding requiring revision 3.3%. In multivariate analysis, the presence of malperfusion in patients with acute aortic dissection emerged as the incremental risk factor for mortality (p < 0.0001, odds ratio = 10.37). There was no variable associated with stroke. Emergency/urgency of operation did not emerge as incremental risk factors for mortality. CONCLUSION: Immediate outcomes of elective aortic operations for proximal aortic pathologies are excellent. Complicated acute dissections with malperfusion remain the major cause of early mortality.

Reoperative off-pump right subclavian artery to right coronary artery bypass grafting without full sternotomy.

Stenosis or occlusion of a large right coronary artery or its vein grafts in symptomatic patients who underwent previous bypass grafting procedure with patent left-sided grafts is mostly managed by percutaneous interventions. When percutaneous interventions fail, it is a difficult decision to reoperate on a such patient for a single-vessel disease considering the risk of resternotomy. We present our technique which involves small anterior thoracotomy and partial sternotomy.

Duplex ultrasound evaluation of endoluminally treated aortic aneurysms with emphasis on diameter measurement: A comparison with computed tomography.

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to determine the accuracy of color Doppler ultrasound (CDUS) for endoleak detection and measurement of the aneurysm diameter after endovascular aortic aneurysm repair. METHODS: Forty-eight CDUS and computed tomographic angiography (CTA) examinations performed concurrently on 29 patients who were treated with endovascular stent grafts for abdominal aortic aneurysms were included in the study. CTA and CDUS findings were retrospectively compared for aneurysm diameter, patency of the graft, and the presence of leaks in the aneurysm's lumen (the so-called "endoleaks"). RESULTS: The stent graft was patent in all patients. Including the follow-up examinations, endoleaks were detected in a total of 17 CTA studies. The sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values for CDUS compared with CTA as the gold standard were 100%, 96%, 94.4%, and 100%, respectively. Kappa statistics showed a high level of agreement between CDUS ant CTA examinations (χ = 0.95). The aneurysm diameters measured with CDUS and CTA were significantly different, but within 5 mm of each other in 83% of patients. CONCLUSIONS: Provided that a strict CDUS protocol including spectral analysis of perigraft flow is used, CDUS is comparable to CTA for endoleak detection and measurement of the aneurysm diameter.

Incidence and risk factors for incisional hernia after abdominal aortic aneurysm and aortic occlusive disease surgery.

BACKGROUND: This study aims to investigate incisional hernia incidence and risk factors after abdominal aortic aneurysm and aortic occlusive disease surgery via a midline laparotomy. METHODS: A total of 110 patients (66 males, 44 females; mean age: 69.3±8.8 years; range, 36 to 88 years) who underwent open elective surgery for aortoiliac occlusive diseases or abdominal aortic aneurysm between January 2005 and December 2016 were retrospectively analyzed. Both patient groups were compared in terms of surgical procedures, sex, age, American Society o f A nesthesiologists s core ( 1-3), b ody m ass i ndex (<25 vs. ≥25 kg/m2), smoking (non-smoker <1 pack/day, smoking ≥1 pack/day), and time to incisional hernia development. RESULTS: Incisional hernia occurred in 14.3% of the patients operated for aortoiliac occlusive disease and in 17.6% of the patients operated for abdominal aortic aneurysm (p=0.643). Incisional hernia was seen in three (5.7%) of 53 patients with a body mass index of <25 kg/m2 and was in 15 (26.3%) of 57 patients with a body mass index of ≥25 kg/m2 (p=0.03). CONCLUSION: High body mass index is a risk factor for incisional hernia in patients undergoing aortic reconstructive surgery.

Chimney technique for solitary pelvic kidney.

The combination of solitary pelvic kidney and abdominal aortic aneurysm is extremely rare. In this report, we present chimney graft implantation in a patient with solitary pelvic kidney. A 63-year-old man had the diagnosis of infrarenal abdominal aortic aneurysm made incidentally. Preoperative computed tomography illustrated a fusiform abdominal aortic aneurysm accompanying a solitary ectopic kidney in the pelvis with aberrant renal artery. A bifurcated endograft was implanted, and a covered stent graft was placed into the renal artery by use of the chimney technique. Good patency of the chimney graft was documented with early postoperative and first month scans. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of the chimney technique used in a solitary pelvic kidney.

Immediate clinical outcome after prolonged periods of brain protection: retrospective comparison of hypothermic circulatory arrest, retrograde, and antegrade perfusion.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: We aimed to compare the immediate clinical outcome after different cerebral perfusion methods, and examine the factors affecting the mortality and neurological outcome. METHODS: Between 1993 and 2006, 339 patients underwent proximal aortic operations using a period of cerebral protection. Among these, 161 patients (mean age of 55 +/- 12 years) who required cerebral protection longer than 25 minutes were included in the analysis. Ascending aorta with or without root was replaced in all patients. In addition, total arch replacement was performed in 36 patients. All patients were cooled to rectal temperature of 16 degrees C. Hypothermic circulatory arrest without adjunctive perfusion was used in 48 patients. Retrograde or antegrade cerebral perfusion was added in 94 and 19 patients, respectively. The mean duration of total cerebral protection was 42 +/- 17 minutes. RESULTS: Overall mortality was 15.5% (25/161) and did not differ among the perfusion groups. There was no difference in the incidence of overall neurological events, temporary neurological dysfunction, or major stroke among the groups. Multivariate analysis revealed that transfusion of >3 units of blood (p < 0.03) was an incremental risk factor for mortality. History of hypertension (p < 0.03), coexisting systemic diseases (p < 0.005), and transfusion of >3 units of blood (p < 0.04) were predictors of temporary neurological dysfunction. CONCLUSION: In proximal aortic operations requiring prolonged periods of cerebral protection, the mortality and neurological morbidity are not determined by the type of cerebral protection method only. Factors like hypertension and diabetes may play a role in the development of temporary neurological dysfunction.

Management of renal cell carcinoma with intracardiac extension.

Renal cell carcinoma extended to the right atrium was operated by using cardiopulmonary bypass and deep hypothermic circulatory arrest. Hypothermic circulatory arrest provides bloodless surgical field for tumor thrombus removal and adequate visceral and brain protection. The surgical technique that we used in a patient was reported in light of the literature.

The outcomes of prosthetic bypass grafting for chronic mesenteric ischemia.

BACKGROUND: This study aims to analyze early and late outcomes of the prosthetic bypass grafting procedure in the treatment of chronic mesenteric ischemia. METHODS: Twenty-two patients (15 males, 7 females; mean age 60±10 years; range, 32 to 78 years) who underwent prosthetic bypass grafting for chronic mesenteric ischemia due to atherosclerosis between March 2009 and March 2017 were included in this study. The demographic and operative data were analyzed retrospectively. RESULTS: The most common risk factors for atherosclerosis were hypertension, diabetes, and hyperlipidemia. A total of 72% of the patients were active tobacco users. The common symptoms were postprandial angina and weight loss. Six patients (27%) had a history of endovascular intervention for mesenteric revascularization. Celiac artery bypass grafting was performed in 17 patients, while superior mesenteric artery bypass grafting was performed in 21 patients. Retrograde bypass was done in all patients and polytetrafluoroethylene grafts were used in 20 patients (90%). The mean hospital stay was 10.5 days and the mean follow-up was 44.7 months. The most common postoperative complications were respiratory failure (9%) and infection (9%). In-hospital mortality was observed in one patient (%4.5)who had acute myocardial infarction-related low cardiac output. One patient had graft thrombosis resulting in early graft infection a month after discharge. Late graft thrombosis was observed in two patients at 44 and 85 months, respectively. Late mortality was observed in two patients due to malignancy and cerebral bleeding, respectively. CONCLUSION: Prosthetic bypass grafting via open surgery for chronic mesenteric ischemia seems to be an effective treatment in long-term and can be implemented with low surgical risks.

Snorkel Technique for Inferior Mesenteric Artery During Endovascular Repair of Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm.

PURPOSE: The snorkel technique is commonly used to preserve renal arteries in juxta renal aneurysm during endovascular repair. Herein, we present a patient who underwent bifurcated endograft implantation with snorkel technique for inferior mesenteric artery (IMA) in order to preserve the major source of bowel circulation. CASE REPORT: A 69-year-old male patient was diagnosed with abdominal aortic aneurysm. His history revealed that he had bowel resection due to a car accident 30 years ago. In addition, he was given relaparotomy 4 times due to intestinal complications. Computed tomography showed fusiform aneurysm with a maximal diameter of 60 mm and chronical occlusion of the superior mesenteric artery. Inferior mesenteric artery was found to be hypertrophic. During EVAR, 6 mm × 10 cm covered VIABAHN Endoprosthesis (Gore Medical) was implanted to the IMA over a 0.018 guidewire via puncture of the left axillary artery. Initially, the main body of the aortic stent-graft (Gore C3, size 23-14-16) was implanted to the infra renal segment of the aorta (below the renal arteries and the orifice using VIABAHN) via the right femoral artery. Next, the contralateral leg (Gore, 14-12-00) was implanted. Computed tomography was examined at 1- and 32-month postoperatively, and no endoleak or patency of IMA stent was detected. CONCLUSION: In this case of IMA-dependent circulation of the intestinal system, the protection of IMA via snorkel technique was successful.

Clinical outcomes in "complex" thoracic aortic surgery.

Although the term "complex aortic surgery" has come into increasing use, it has not been defined. We propose the following definition: replacement or remodeling (not resuspension of commissures) of the aortic root, together with either an intracardiac procedure or a replacement of more than 1 segment of aorta, all of which require cerebral protection. We retrospectively analyzed data pertaining to 152 patients (mean age, 56 +/- 12 years) who underwent surgery for thoracic aortic disease with aid of cardiopulmonary bypass from October 2000 through December 2005. The replaced segment was the ascending aorta with or without the root in 106 patients, the aortic arch in 15, and the descending aorta in 31. Among these patients, 10 met our proposed criteria and constituted the complex group. In this group, in addition to the aortic root, the entire thoracic aorta (ascending, arch, and descending) was replaced in 4 patients, the total arch in 2, and a partial arch in 1. The remaining 3 underwent valve or coarctation repair. Their outcomes were analyzed as a sub-group within the overall outcome. The in-hospital mortality rate was 12.5% in the overall group (19/152), 4.1% in elective cases (3/73), and 10% in the complex group (1/10). Duration of cardiopulmonary bypass, myocardial ischemia, and total cerebral protection times were significantly longer in the complex group (P <0.0001). Total cerebral protection time over 40 minutes was the only predictor of neurologic morbidity (P = 0.003; odds ratio, 4.7). Procedural complexity, as we defined it, increased neurologic morbidity, but not the mortality rate.

Staged approach for surgical management of a true femoral artery aneurysm combined with bilateral iliac artery aneurysms.

True femoral artery aneurysm is a rare vascular entity and is often associated with aortic or peripheral aneurysms. Life-threatening complications associated with peripheral arterial aneurysms include rupture, thrombosis, and embolization. In patients with multiple aneurysms, any symptomatic aneurysms should be treated first; in asymptomatic patients, the aneurysms can be repaired either simultaneously in a single operation or serially in a staged procedure. We report a case of concomitant true femoral aneurysm and bilateral iliac artery aneurysms, which were treated with a combination of open surgical and endovascular techniques.

Surgical approaches to the aberrant right subclavian artery.

Aberrant subclavian artery (arteria lusoria) is a rare congenital anomaly that usually does not produce symptoms. Symptomatic patients require surgical intervention. The operative approach to correct this condition has been controversial. Herein, we describe surgical approaches to the aberrant right subclavian artery. From 2000 through 2004, 3 children and 1 adult with aberrant right subclavian artery underwent operation. Our surgical approach varied according to the age of the patient. A muscle-sparing right thoracotomy was used in the pediatric patients, and a supraclavicular approach was used in the adult. Patients were treated successfully by division of the aberrant right subclavian artery and translocation to the right common carotid artery, without graft interposition. There was no operative or late morbidity or death. Symptoms were completely relieved in all patients. Although an extrathoracic approach is applicable and reliable for adult patients, we believe that adequate exposure for the described procedure is best accomplished through a right thoracotomy in pediatric patients. This approach enables optimal mobilization of the distal right subclavian artery without leaving a long stump and enables direct anastomosis to the ipsilateral carotid artery.

Management of vascular infection in the groin.

We performed this retrospective study in order to evaluate the effectiveness of different surgical methods in the treatment of inguinal vascular infections. Fourteen consecutive patients underwent surgical treatment of such infections from 1996 through 2004 in our clinic. The mean age was 52 +/- 16 years. Seven of the 14 patients underwent emergency operation due to bleeding or acute ischemia. The events that caused inguinal infection were synthetic graft implantation in 8 patients, gunshot injury in 1, arterial catheterization in 2, femoropopliteal saphenous vein bypass operation in 1, and motor vehicle accident with abdominal wall laceration in 2. The most common infecting pathogen was Staphylococcus aureus (7 patients). Sixteen operations were performed in 14 patients. These operations included lateral femoral bypass (5), obturator bypass (5), revascularization with homograft (5), and femorofemoral bypass (1). All inguinal infections were completely cured after surgery. Early complications included poor wound healing (4 patients), minor amputation (1 patient), and extension of infection to the distal anastomosis of the obturator bypass and false aneurysm formation (1 patient). Late complications were acute homograft occlusion of a femorofemoral bypass and thrombosis of a below-knee lateral femoral bypass. There was no operative or late mortality. All patients were followed up for a mean of 48.1 +/- 21.9 months. We did not encounter any aneurysmal degeneration, rupture, or reinfection in homograft patients during follow-up. We conclude that vascular infections of the groin can be cured by proper selection and application of one of the above techniques.

Large pseudoaneurysm of the carotid artery in Behçet's disease.

Behçet's disease is a multisystem inflammatory disease of unknown cause. Its major pathologic feature is vasculitis. We report the occurrence of a large pseudoaneurysm of the carotid artery in a patient who had Behçet's disease. The patient underwent surgery and was discharged on the 7th postoperative day. Ours is only the 4th such case reported in the English-language medical literature. Endovascular and surgical options are discussed herein.

Endovascular Treatment of Iliac Vein Compression (May-Thurner) Syndrome: Angioplasty and Stenting with or without Manual Aspiration Thrombectomy and Catheter-Directed Thrombolysis.

PURPOSE: May-Thurner syndrome (MTS) is a rare clinical entity featuring venous obstruction of the left lower extremity. The aim of the present study was to report our experience with MTS and to evaluate the utility of treatment using endovascular techniques. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed data on 23 MTS patients (21 females, two males; mean age 44 ± 15 years). Eighteen patients presented with deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and five with symptoms associated with chronic venous hypertension (CVH). DVT patients were treated via thromboaspiration, catheter-directed thrombolysis, and angioplasty; followed by stent placement. CVH patients were treated with angioplasty and stent placement alone. All patients were followed-up using Doppler ultrasonography and computed tomography venography. RESULTS: Complete left common iliac vein patency was achieved in 21 of the 23 patients (technical success rate: 91,3%). Complete thrombolysis was attained by 14 of the 18 DVT patients (77.7%). The mean clinical and radiological follow-up time was 15.2 ± 16.1 months. Upon follow-up, complete symptomatic regression was observed in 19 of the 23 patients (82.6%). Stent patency was complete in 19 of the 21 patients (90.4%) who received stents. Restenosis occurred in two patients. No treatment-related mortality or morbidity was observed. CONCLUSION: Endovascular treatment of MTS is safe and effective and reduces symptoms in most patients, associated with high medium-term patency rates.

Amiodarone reduces the incidence of atrial fibrillation after coronary artery bypass grafting.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the safety and efficacy of postoperative administration of prophylactic amiodarone in the prevention of new-onset postoperative atrial fibrillation in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting. METHODS: In this prospective study 157 patients were randomly divided into two groups: 77 patients (amiodarone group) received intravenous amiodarone in a dose of 10 mg/kg/d for postoperative 48 hours. On postoperative day 2 oral amiodarone was started with a dose of 600 mg/d for 5 days, 400 mg/d for the following 5 days, and 200 mg/d for 20 days, and 80 patients received placebo (control group). RESULTS: Preoperative patient characteristics and operative variables were similar in the two groups. Postoperative atrial fibrillation occurred in 8 patients (10.4%) receiving amiodarone and in 20 (25.0%) patients receiving placebo (P =.017). Duration of atrial fibrillation was 12.8 +/- 4.8 hours for the amiodarone group compared with 34.7 +/- 28.7 hours for the control group (P =.003). The maximum ventricular rate during atrial fibrillation was slower in the amiodarone group than in the control group (105.9 +/- 19.1 beats per minute and 126.0 +/- 18.5 beats per minute, respectively, P =.016). The two groups had a similar incidence of complication other than rhythm disturbances (20.8% vs 20.0%, P =.904). Amiodarone group patients had shorter hospital stays than that of control group patients (6.8 +/- 1.7 days vs 7.8 +/- 2.9 days, P =.014). The in-hospital mortality was not different between two groups (1.3% vs 3.8, P =.620). CONCLUSIONS: Postoperative intravenous amiodarone, followed by oral amiodarone, appears to be effective in the prevention of new-onset postoperative atrial fibrillation. It also reduces ventricular rate and duration of atrial fibrillation after coronary artery bypass grafting. It is well tolerated and decreases the length of hospital stay.

A practical tool to control bleeding during sternal reentry for pseudoaneurysm of the ascending aorta.

Big pseudoaneurysms of the ascending aorta after a previous thoracic operation are rare and represent a surgical challenge. Because the rupture during sternal reentry occurs before the clamp-control of the distal ascending aorta, it is essential to control the bleeding until the adhesions are released in order to place the sternal retractor. We report the use of Foley catheter with a malleable guidewire to control the bleeding from the defect in the ascending aorta causing a pseudoaneurysm in case of a limited access.