Direct puncture versus contralateral femoral artery approach for catheter-directed thrombolysis of occluded infra-inguinal arterial bypass grafts.

AIM: To compare the safety, effectiveness, and clinical outcome of percutaneous direct puncture approach versus contralateral femoral native vessel approach for catheter-directed thrombolysis of occluded infra-inguinal bypass grafts. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A retrospective analysis was performed comprising a cohort of patients who underwent catheter-directed thrombolysis procedures of occluded infra-inguinal bypass grafts between January 2013 and January 2022, with a follow-up period until June 2022. This included 55 procedures via the native vessel approach and 18 procedures via the direct puncture approach. Primary outcomes were technical success and procedural safety; secondary outcomes included re-intervention rate, limb salvage, and mortality as assessed by log-rank testing and Kaplan-Meier curves. RESULTS: There were no differences between the two groups with regard to patient demographics, except for the number of previous vascular procedures (n=6.83 ± 3.07 direct approach versus n=4.96 ± 2.79 native vessel approach, p=0.025). Thrombolysis was comparably successful in both groups (n=13/18; 72% direct approach versus n=42/55; 76%, p=0.723). There were no differences in the duration of thrombolysis administration. The rate of adverse events was slightly lower in the direct approach group, but without significance (p=0.092). There were no adverse events related to the puncture site in the direct approach group. No differences were found between the time-to-event values for re-occlusion, re-intervention, amputation, or mortality respectively (p=0.662; p=0.520; p=0.816; p=0.462). CONCLUSION: The direct puncture approach seems to be a safe and efficient approach for catheter-directed thrombolysis procedures in infra-inguinal occluded bypass grafts, with clinical outcomes comparable to the native vessel approach.

Venous malformation as source of a tarsal tunnel syndrome: treat the source or the cause of the complaints? A case report.

Painful tarsal tunnel syndrome is a compression neuropathy with a variety of possible sources. As it presents a challenging differential diagnostic problem, it is often under-diagnosed. Among the intrinsic and extrinsic factors, varicose veins are the main source in case of a venous etiology. We report a case of a 39-year old male patient who presented with complaints of paresthesia and excessive pain of the right foot, especially the medial side. Further work up by ultrasonography, magnetic resonance imaging and electromyography revealed an extensive congenital venous malformation of the right lower limb with subsequent compression of the tibial nerve in the tarsal tunnel. We did not treat the source, but the cause by open tarsal tunnel release. Excellent result with immediate full relieve of the patients complaints was achieved.

An atypical case of necrotizing fasciitis of the breast.

Necrotizing fasciitis is a rare and aggressive soft tissue infection involving the fascia and subcutaneous tissues. It carries a high mortality and morbidity rate. In literature, the few case reports on necrotizing fasciitis of the breast, describe the need for a mastectomy in 90% of the cases. We report on a case of a 72-year old Caucasian women with an atypical presentation of necrotizing fasciitis of the breast in combination with an acute abdomen, successfully treated with breast-conserving debridement and secondary wound closure.

Single-incision right hemicolectomy for malignancy: a feasible technique with standard laparoscopic instrumentation.

AIM: Single-incision laparoscopy is a rapidly evolving technique in the spectrum 'standard laparoscopy-natural orifice transluminal endoscopic surgery (NOTES)'. From a commercial perspective, purchase of articulating instruments is advised. However, here we present our early experience with single-incision laparoscopy for right hemicolectomy with standard laparoscopic instrumentation. METHOD: Between June 2010 and December 2011, 25 patients presenting with malignant disease underwent single-incision laparoscopy for right hemicolectomy. Four different ports (SILS™ port, Covidien; SSL(®) Access system, Ethicon; X-Cone/S-Portal(®) , Storz; and OCTO™ port, AFS Medical) were used. Patients were recruited prospectively and all data were processed retrospectively. RESULTS: Twenty-five patients were included in our study (and their characteristics, described later in this paragraph, are expressed as median (range)). Four conversions to standard laparoscopy were performed. The age of patients was 69 (36-89) years, and they had a body mass index (BMI) of 24.5 (19.1-34.2). The duration of surgery was 110 (70-148) min with a healed skin incision length of 35 (20-60) mm. Hospital stay was 5 (2-15) days. In four patients discharge was delayed because of comorbidity. One patient suffered an overwhelming pneumonia. CONCLUSION: Single-incision laparoscopy using standard laparoscopic instruments appears to be a safe and feasible technique for malignant disease requiring right hemicolectomy. Randomized, prospective trials are ongoing to prove the benefits of this technique and to compare its oncological outcome measures with those of conventional laparoscopy. In our experience, a low-profile port with a wide intra-abdominal range of motion is most preferable.

Spontaneous haemopneumothorax.

Spontaneous haemopneumothorax (SHP) is a rare, potential life-threatening emergency. Patients suffering from spontaneous haemopneumothorax can present at the emergency department with dyspnoea and unexplained signs of significant hypovolemia. Discussion about patient selection, timing and technique of operation is still alive. Standard chest roentgenogram is the most useful way to diagnose spontaneous haemopneumothorax, although false negative results exist. In most cases, initial conservative treatment requires later surgical intervention. So early surgical management is needed. In haemodynamic stable patients without any contra-indications, VATS is the preferred treatment method. However there's still discussion about the timing of surgery in hemodynamically instable patients.