[A man with a pulsating mass on the dorsal side of his foot]. / Een man met een pulserende zwelling op de voetrug.

A 41-year-old healthy male was referred with a progressive swelling on the dorsal side of his right foot. Analysis of this swelling revealed an aneurysm of the A. dorsalis pedis. Resection and primary vascular reconstruction was performed without any complications.

Pararenal aortic aneurysm repair using fenestrated endografts.

OBJECTIVE: We performed a systematic review of the current literature to analyze the immediate and follow-up results of fenestrated endovascular aortic aneurysm repair (F-EVAR) in patients with pararenal abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAAs). METHODS: The Medline, Embase, and Cochrane databases were searched to identify all studies reporting F-EVAR of pararenal AAAs published between January 2000 and May 2011. Two independent observers selected studies for inclusion, assessed the quality of the included studies, and performed the data extraction. Studies were selected based on specific predefined criteria. Outcomes were technical success (successfully completed procedure with endograft patency, preservation of target vessels, and no evidence of type I or III endoleak at postprocedural imaging), 30-day mortality, all-cause mortality, branch vessel patency, renal impairment, and secondary interventions. Between-study heterogeneity was calculated using I(2) statistics. Pooled estimates were calculated using a fixed-effects (I(2) <25%) or a random-effects (I(2) >25% to <50%) model. RESULTS: Nine studies were included reporting 629 patients who underwent F-EVAR for a pararenal AAA, of which 1622 target vessels were incorporated in an endograft design. Between-study heterogeneity was ≤ 41% for all outcomes. The pooled estimate (95% confidence interval [CI] was 90.4% (87.7%-92.5%) for technical success, 2.1% (1.2%-3.7%) for 30-day mortality, and 16% (12.5%-20.4%) for all-cause mortality. Follow-up was 15 to 25 months. The pooled estimate (95% CI) during follow-up was 93.2% (90.4%-95.3%) for branch vessel patency, 22.2% (16%-30.1%) for renal impairment, and 17.8% (13.5%-22.6%) for secondary interventions. CONCLUSIONS: Promising immediate and midterm results (up to 2 years) support F-EVAR as a feasible, safe, and effective treatment in a relatively high-risk cohort of patients with pararenal AAAs.

[Occlusion of the popliteal artery caused by bony exostoses]. / Occlusie van de A. poplitea door een exostose.

A 52-year-old woman without risk factors for vascular disease or preceding trauma presented with prolonged pain of the right knee radiating to the calf. Radiographs, duplex ultrasound and MR angiography revealed a popliteal artery occlusion resulting from two exostoses on the dorsal side of the proximal tibia. These exostoses were surgically removed. The postoperative course was uneventful. Six weeks after surgery, the patient reported having no more pain. Bony exostoses occur most frequently on the distal femur and the proximal tibia. In rare cases, they can cause vascular complications including stenosis, occlusion and venous thrombosis. In patients with incapacitating symptoms or vascular complications, surgical treatment is indicated. If an expectative course is opted for, monitoring for vascular complications and malignant degeneration must take place.

Suture damage during robot-assisted vascular surgery: is it an issue?

BACKGROUND: Manipulation of sutures during endoscopic surgery could lead to damage of suture structure, supposedly resulting in loss of strength. Lack of tactile feedback in robotic surgical systems might increase this problem. The objective of this study is to evaluate suture strength after robotic manipulation and to determine which suture material is least susceptible to damage from robotic manipulation. METHODS: The da Vinci surgical system was used to manipulate sutures. Three different suture materials (Prolene, ePTFE, Ethibond) of 3 different sizes (3-0, 4-0, and 5-0) were tested. A total of 270 sutures were pulled on a Servohydraulic Universal Testing Machine. The frequency of breaks at a manipulation-point and the maximum applied force (N) before the suture broke were used for statistic analysis. RESULTS: No loss in strength was shown in the ePTFE sutures after manipulation, whereas both Prolene and Ethibond sutures showed a significant loss of strength. CONCLUSIONS: ePTFE sutures are least susceptible to robotic manipulations and are, therefore, to be considered as a material of first choice.

Emergency endovascular treatment of thoracic aortic rupture in three accident victims with multiple injuries.

PURPOSE: To report an experience with emergency endovascular treatment of traumatic thoracic aortic ruptures in multi-injured patients. CASE REPORTS: Three victims of motor vehicle accidents with multiple head, chest, and abdominal injuries in addition to fractures were treated urgently for thoracic aortic lacerations with transluminal placement of an endovascular graft during the initial emergent laparotomy. In all cases, ruptured visceral organs were treated first and the abdomen closed. Femoral artery access was gained through a cutdown, and the endografts were delivered with no systemic heparinization. The endovascular component of the surgical session took approximately 50 minutes. All patients survived to discharge. Two patients are alive at 5 and 12 months with sustained endovascular exclusion of the pseudoaneurysm, but one patient with severe brain damage died 9 months after treatment from respiratory insufficiency. CONCLUSIONS: Acute endovascular treatment of thoracic aortic ruptures is feasible and has the advantage of avoiding thoracotomy in otherwise severely injured patients.