Efficacious use of nitinol stents in the femoral and popliteal arteries.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the performance and identify predictors of outcome after the use of self-expanding nitinol stents in the treatment of femoropopliteal arterial occlusive disease. METHODS: A retrospective analysis of a prospectively collected database was performed. Outcomes of patients who underwent placement of a nitinol stent in the femoral or above-knee popliteal arteries between 1999 and 2002 were studied. Patency, limb salvage, and patient survival were determined by Kaplan-Meier estimation and intergroup comparisons by log-rank test and Cox proportional hazards model. To define individual factors associated with clinical outcomes, stepwise regression analysis was performed. RESULTS: A total of 41 patients (mean age, 70 +/- 10 years; gender, 26 men and 15 women) underwent percutaneous placement of nitinol stents. Limb salvage was the indication for intervention in 68% of patients. Diabetes was present in 54%, and 36% had end-stage renal disease. Nitinol stents were placed in the superficial femoral (35 patients) or the above-knee popliteal (6 patients) arteries. The mean postprocedural increase in ankle-brachial index was 0.32 +/- 0.19. The 6-month, 1-year, and 2-year primary patency and limb-salvage rates were 95%, 84%, and 84%, and 92%, 89%, and 89%, respectively. Major amputations occurred only in patients undergoing limb-salvage procedures presenting with major tissue loss. No statistically significant differences in patency were seen with regard to diabetes, end-stage renal disease, runoff score, length of vessel stented (median, 80 mm), hypertension, or smoking. CONCLUSIONS: Our initial experience with self-expanding nitinol stents for femoropopliteal occlusive disease appears to demonstrate acceptable patency and limb-salvage rates at these early time points. Further evaluation of clinical outcome with these devices in this and larger groups of patients is warranted.

Influence of endovascular training on fellowship and general surgical training.

PURPOSE: As endovascular procedures develop, there is a risk of diminished training of residents and fellows in traditional open surgery. We evaluated the effect of our endovascular program, initiated in 1999 coincident with the Federal Drug Administration's approval of endoluminal vascular aortic grafts, on the number of endovascular procedures and open abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) repairs performed in comparison to national trends. METHODS: The experience of vascular fellows and chief residents at completion of training (1996-2002) was reviewed and compared with the national mean case numbers before and after initiation of our endovascular program. RESULTS: The development of an endovascular program increased the total number of aneurysms repaired at the Robert Wood Johnson (RWJ) Medical School from 49 +/- 15 to 92 +/- 8 per year (P < 0.01). The number of vascular operations performed by the RWJ fellow increased from 320 +/- 48 to 553 +/- 155 per year (P < 0.05). The number of operations performed nationally by vascular fellows also increased during the same period, but did not reach statistical significance. There was no change in the number of open AAA repairs performed by the RWJ fellow or nationally. There was also no change in the average number of vascular operations completed by RWJ chief residents or nationally (160 +/- 17 versus 157 +/- 1 and 192 +/- 4 versus 189 +/- 4, respectively; P > 0.05). However, the average number of open AAA repairs performed nationally by general surgical chief residents decreased from 10 +/- 0.3 to 9 +/- 0.4 (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: An endovascular program can increase the total number of AAA repairs performed without influencing the total number of vascular operations performed by general surgical chief residents. There was a decrease in open AAA repairs performed nationally by general surgical chief residents. The advancement of endovascular therapies may decrease the number of open procedures available for trainees in both general and vascular surgery. Perhaps those that will specialize in the field of vascular surgery should have the benefit of those open procedures.