Using a novel three-dimensional holographic technology to perform open vascular surgery procedures.

Augmented reality technology has been introduced during recent years into everyday clinical practice. Several surgical specialties have begun using such technology for preoperative planning as well as intraoperatively. Regarding vascular surgery, a limited number of reports have described the benefits, mainly for endovascular procedures. We aim to present a novel three-dimensional holographic system we used to perform an open vascular procedure.

Extra-anatomic bypass procedures for severe aortoiliac occlusive disease-A cohort study.

OBJECTIVES: Extra-anatomic bypass (ExAB) grafting has been questioned due its inferior durability compared to anatomic bypass for aortoiliac occlusive disease (AIOD). This study aims to present early and late outcomes of patients treated with ExAB as well as to evaluate potential prognostic factors. METHODS: This is a retrospective cohort study presenting a series of patients treated with ExAB for AIOD. All patients were treated between 2005 and 2022 within the Vascular Surgery Unit of a University Surgery Clinic. Both early (30-day) and late outcomes were evaluated. Univariate and multivariate analyses were conducted for potential predictors. Kaplan-Meier curve was produced for long-term patency. RESULTS: A total of 41 patients were treated (85.3% males; mean age: 76.3 ± 4.2 years). Indication for treatment included severe claudication or critical limb ischemia (Rutherford stages III-VI). The following procedures were recorded: Femorofemoral bypass (FFB; n = 21) and axillofemoral bypass (AxFB; n = 20). All procedures were conducted using synthetic grafts with external rings. Early outcomes included no death, no myocardial infarction, no major bleeding, no graft infection, and no major amputation. Regarding late outcomes, 14.6% patients were lost after the first month. For the rest of patients (n = 35), five-year primary patency was 88.6%, primary-assisted patency was 94.3%, and secondary patency was also 94.3%. Limb salvage was 100% within follow-up. Endarterectomy at the distal anastomosis was the only independent predictor associated with worse patency in the long-term (OR = 5.356; 95% CI (1.012-185.562); p = .041). CONCLUSIONS: FFB and AxFB is a safe and durable strategy for treating patients with severe AIOD where no other option is feasible. Regarding predictors, only endarterectomy at the distal anastomosis site was associated with an increased risk for graft failure.

The effect of cilostazol on late outcomes after endovascular treatment for occlusive femoropopliteal disease.

OBJECTIVE: Restenosis and late occlusion remain a significant problem for endovascular treatment of peripheral artery disease. This meta-analysis aims to evaluate the effect of cilostazol on late outcomes after endovascular repair of occlusive femoropopliteal disease. METHODS: A systematic literature review was conducted conforming to established criteria to identify articles published up to September 2023 evaluating late outcomes after endovascular treatment for atherosclerotic femoropopliteal disease. Eligible studies should compare outcomes between patients treated with cilostazol and patients not treated with cilostazol. Both prospective and retrospective studies were eligible. Late outcomes included primary patency (PP), restenosis, target lesion revascularization (TLR), and major amputation during follow-up. RESULTS: Overall, 10 clinical studies were identified for analysis including 4721 patients (1831 with cilostazol vs 2890 without cilostazol) that were treated for 5703 lesions (2235 with cilostazol vs 3468 without cilostazol). All studies were performed in Japan. Mean follow-up was 24.1 ± 12.5 months. Cilostazol was associated with a lower risk for restenosis (pooled odds ratio [OR], 0.503; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.383-0.660; P < .0001). However, no association was found between cilostazol and TLR (pooled OR, 0.918; 95% CI, 0.300-2.812; P = .881) as well as major amputation (pooled OR, 1.512; 95% CI, 0.734-3.116; P = .263). Regarding primary patency, cilostazol was associated with a higher 12-month PP (OR, 3.047; 95% CI, 1.168-7.946; P = .023), and a higher 36-month PP (OR, 1.616; 95% CI, 1.412-1.850; P < .0001). No association was found between cilostazol and mortality during follow-up (pooled OR, .755; 95% CI, 0.293-1.946; P = .561). CONCLUSIONS: Cilostazol seems to have a positive effect on 1- to 3-year PP and restenosis rates among patients treated endovascularly for atherosclerotic femoropopliteal disease. A positive effect on TLR and amputation risk was not verified in this review.

Direct oral anticoagulants for deep vein thrombosis among patients with hereditary thrombophilia-A cohort study.

OBJECTIVES: to evaluate direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) in patients with hereditary thrombophilia and deep venous thrombosis (DVT). METHODS: This is a retrospective observational study. RESULTS: In total, 45 patients were treated between 01/2012 and 12/2022 (mean follow-up: 1.5 +/- 0.3 years). The most frequent thrombophilias were heterozygous V Leiden (20%), heterozygous MTHFR C677T (37.8%), heterozygous MTHFR A1298C (24.4%), and hyperhomocysteinemia (26.7%). The patients received rivaroxaban (n = 19), apixaban (n = 15), and dabigatran (n = 11). Three cases presented symptoms' recurrence without evidence of thrombosis' recurrence (two under rivaroxaban and one under apixaban; p > .05). These patients improved under parenteral anticoagulation and were further treated with dabigatran. No other event or major bleeding occurred during the follow-up. The presence of more than two factors was associated with acute recurrence of symptoms (OR = 25.9; 95% CI [1.454-461.262]; p = .026). CONCLUSIONS: DOACs seem to be safe and efficient for patients with hereditary thrombophilia and DVT. The presence of more than two thrombophilia factors is associated with a higher risk for symptom recurrence. Although statistically non-significant, symptoms' recurrence was also observed more frequently among patients under anti-Xa inhibitors than antithrombin inhibitors. This should be verified in larger comparative studies.

A systematic review and meta-analysis of early and late outcomes after endovascular angioplasty among patients with thromboangiitis obliterans and chronic limb ischemia.

BACKGROUND: No consensus has yet been reached regarding the optimal treatment of patients with thromboangiitis obliterans (TO) and chronic limb ischemia. In the present study, we aimed to summarize the results on endovascular treatment of such patients. METHODS: We performed a meta-analysis using the following databases: PubMed, Scopus, and the Cochrane Library. The eligible studies had been reported up to December 2021 and had evaluated endovascular angioplasty to treat patients with TO and chronic limb ischemia. The early (mortality and technical success) and late (primary/secondary patency and limb salvage) outcomes were evaluated. StatsDirect (StatsDirect Ltd, Merseyside, UK) was used for the statistical analysis. RESULTS: Overall, 15 eligible studies were included (only endovascular in 11 studies and both endovascular and open repair in 4 studies). Among 601 patients, 402 endovascular procedures (416 limbs) were recorded (angioplasty plus stenting for 7.2% and angioplasty plus thrombolysis for 3.7%). The clinical presentation was intermittent claudication (stage II-III) for 7.9% of the patients and critical ischemia (stage IV-VI) for 92.1% of the patients. Most of the patients had had lesions below the knee, and five had had upper extremity lesions. The pooled technical success rate was 86% (range, 81.1%-90.3%), with no in-hospital mortality. The other complications included perforations (1.9%), wound complications (2.2%), and distal embolism (0.2%). Primary patency was 65.7% (range, 52.7%-77.6%) at 12 months and 50.7% (range, 23.3%-77.9%) at 36 months. Secondary patency was 76.2% (range, 57.5%-90.8%) at 12 months and 64.5% (range, 32.3%-90.6%) at 36 months. The limb salvage rate was 94.1% (range, 90.7%-96.7%) at 12 months and 89.1% (range, 80.6%-95.4%) at 36 months. CONCLUSIONS: Endovascular angioplasty for patients with TO and chronic limb ischemia was associated with optimal safety and low complication rates. The technical success and late outcomes were acceptable.

New paradigms in minimally-invasive vascular surgery.

INTRODUCTION: Vascular surgery has been greatly evolved during the last decades and novel minimally invasive techniques have been introduced. Aim of this review is to briefly present all these advances and compare them with traditional repairs. AREAS COVERED: The authors have extensively searched literature through the Pubmed and Embase databases. All articles published up to December 2021 referring to minimally invasive techniques used for treatment of peripheral artery disease, carotid disease, aortic aneurysms, and venous disease were evaluated. Minimally invasive techniques under investigation included endovascular and hybrid techniques, robot-assisted and laparoscopic approaches. EXPERT OPINION: Several minimally invasive techniques such as endovascular and hybrid approaches have been extensively used during the last two decades to treat vascular surgery patients offering them lower mortality and morbidity risks. Novel robot-assisted techniques have shown promising results in preclinical studies although further clinical evaluation is needed.

Acute limb ischemia among patients with COVID-19 infection.

OBJECTIVE/BACKGROUND: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection has been associated with thrombotic complications such as deep vein thrombosis or stroke. Recently, numerous cases of acute limb ischemia (ALI) have been reported although pooled data are lacking. METHODS: We systematically searched PubMed, Embase, Scopus, and the Cochrane Library for studies published online up to January 2021 that reported cases with SARS-CoV-2 infection and ALI. Eligible studies should have reported early outcomes including mortality. Primary endpoints included also pooled amputation, clinical improvement, and reoperation rates. RESULTS: In total, 34 studies (19 case reports and 15 case series/cohort studies) including a total of 540 patients (199 patients were eligible for analysis) were evaluated. All studies were published in 2020. Mean age of patients was 61.6 years (range, 39-84 years; data from 32 studies) and 78.4% of patients were of male gender (data from 32 studies). There was a low incidence of comorbidities: arterial hypertension, 49% (29 studies); diabetes mellitus, 29.6% (29 studies); dyslipidemia, 20.5% (27 studies); chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, 8.5% (26 studies); coronary disease, 8.3% (26 studies); and chronic renal disease, 7.6% (28 studies). Medical treatment was selected as first-line treatment for 41.8% of cases. Pooled mortality rate among 34 studies reached 31.4% (95% confidence interval [CI], 25.4%%-37.7%). Pooled amputation rate among 34 studies reached 23.2% (95% CI, 17.3%-29.7%). Pooled clinical improvement rate among 28 studies reached 66.6% (95% CI, 55.4%%-76.9%). Pooled reoperation rate among 29 studies reached 10.5% (95% CI, 5.7%%-16.7%). Medical treatment was associated with a higher death risk compared with any intervention (odds ratio, 4.04; 95% CI, 1.075-15.197; P = .045) although amputation risk was not different between the two strategies (odds ratio, 0.977; 95% CI, 0.070-13.600; P = .986) (data from 31 studies). CONCLUSIONS: SARS-CoV-2 infection is associated with a high risk for thrombotic complications, including ALI. COVID-associated ALI presents in patients with a low incidence of comorbidities, and it is associated with a high mortality and amputation risk. Conservative treatment seems to have a higher mortality risk compared with any intervention, although amputation risk is similar.

Open versus endovascular repair for extracranial carotid aneurysms.

BACKGROUND: Extracranial carotid artery aneurysms (ECCAs) are rare; however, they are associated with a high risk of stroke and mortality if untreated. In the present review, we compared the major outcomes between open and endovascular repair of ECCAs. METHODS: We systematically searched PubMed, Embase, Scopus, and the Cochrane Library for clinical studies reported online up to September 2020 that had evaluated major outcomes after both open and endovascular repair of ECCAs. Eligible studies were required to have evaluated at least the 30-day mortality or stroke and/or transient ischemic attack rates. The quality of the studies was also evaluated. RESULTS: Overall, seven studies (three high quality, two medium quality, and two low quality) with 374 patients and 383 ECCAs were eligible. All the studies had been reported from 2004 to 2020. In total, 220 open repairs were compared with 81 endovascular repairs. The open and endovascular treatments showed similar 30-day mortality rates (4% vs 0%; pooled odds ratio [OR], 2.67; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.291-24.451) and stroke and transient ischemic attack rates (5.5% vs 1.2%; pooled OR, 1.42; 95% CI, 0.412-4.886). Open repair was associated in six studies with a greater incidence of cranial nerve injury compared with endovascular repair (14.5% vs 0%; OR, 3.98; 95% CI, 1.178-13.471). The hematoma or bleeding rate was also similar between the two methods in six studies (5.2% vs 0%; OR, 1.92; 95% CI, 0.518-7.094). CONCLUSIONS: Open and endovascular repair of ECCAs is associated with similarly low early mortality and cerebrovascular event rates, although open repair showed a greater risk of cranial nerve injuries. An endovascular approach could be more appropriate when the aneurysm is located distally or requires extensive dissection. More studies are needed with standardized follow-up durations to evaluate late outcomes.

Editor's Choice - Early and Late Outcomes after Transcarotid Revascularisation for Internal Carotid Artery Stenosis: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

OBJECTIVE: Transcarotid/transcervical revascularisation (TCAR) is an alternative to carotid endarterectomy (CEA) and transfemoral carotid stenting (tfCAS). This review aimed to evaluate pooled data on patients undergoing TCAR. DATA SOURCES: Medline, Embase, Scopus, and Cochrane Library databases were used. REVIEW METHODS: This systematic review was conducted under Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis guidelines. Eligible studies (published online up to September 2020) reported 30 day mortality and stroke/transient ischaemic attack (TIA) rates in patients undergoing TCAR. Data were pooled in a random effects model and weight of effect for each study was also reported. Quality of studies was evaluated according to Newcastle - Ottawa scale. RESULTS: Eighteen studies (three low, seven medium, and eight high quality) included 4 852 patients (4 867 TCAR procedures). The pooled 30 day mortality rate was 0.7% (n = 32) (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.5 - 1.0), 30 day stroke rate 1.4% (n = 62) (95% CI 1.0 - 1.7), and 30 day stroke/TIA rate 2.0% (n = 92) (95% CI 1.4 - 2.7). Pooled technical success was 97.6% (95% CI 95.9 - 98.8). The cranial nerve injury rate was 1.2% (95% CI 0.7 - 1.9) (n = 14; data from 10 studies) while the early myocardial infarction (MI) rate was 0.4% (95% CI 0.2 - 0.6) (n = 16; data from 17 studies). The haematoma/bleeding rate was 3.4% (95% CI 1.7 - 5.8) (n = 135; data from 10 studies), with one third of these cases needing drainage or intervention. Within a follow up of 3 - 40 months the restenosis rate was 4% (95% CI 0.1 - 13.1) (data from nine studies; n = 64/530 patients) and death/stroke rate 4.5% (95% CI 1.8 - 8.4) (data from five studies; n = 184/3 742 patients). Symptomatic patients had a higher risk of early stroke/TIA than asymptomatic patients (2.5% vs. 1.2%; odds ratio 1.99; 95% CI 1.01 - 3.92); p = .046; data from eight studies). CONCLUSION: TCAR is associated with promising early and late outcomes, with symptomatic patients having a higher risk of early cerebrovascular events. More prospective comparative studies are needed in order to verify TCAR as an established alternative treatment technique.

Late Sac Rupture due to a Type IV Endoleak after Previous Endovascular Aortic Aneurysm Repair: A Case Report.

Type IV endoleaks have been identified as endoleaks of low flow, and rupture risk has been estimated to be minimal in literature. Therefore, conservative treatment has been recommended in most cases. We are presenting a rare case of late rupture due to type IV endoleak that was treated with open repair applying a novel surgical technique.

Adenosine-to-inosine RNA editing controls cathepsin S expression in atherosclerosis by enabling HuR-mediated post-transcriptional regulation.

Adenosine-to-inosine (A-to-I) RNA editing, which is catalyzed by a family of adenosine deaminase acting on RNA (ADAR) enzymes, is important in the epitranscriptomic regulation of RNA metabolism. However, the role of A-to-I RNA editing in vascular disease is unknown. Here we show that cathepsin S mRNA (CTSS), which encodes a cysteine protease associated with angiogenesis and atherosclerosis, is highly edited in human endothelial cells. The 3' untranslated region (3' UTR) of the CTSS transcript contains two inverted repeats, the AluJo and AluSx+ regions, which form a long stem-loop structure that is recognized by ADAR1 as a substrate for editing. RNA editing enables the recruitment of the stabilizing RNA-binding protein human antigen R (HuR; encoded by ELAVL1) to the 3' UTR of the CTSS transcript, thereby controlling CTSS mRNA stability and expression. In endothelial cells, ADAR1 overexpression or treatment of cells with hypoxia or with the inflammatory cytokines interferon-γ and tumor-necrosis-factor-α induces CTSS RNA editing and consequently increases cathepsin S expression. ADAR1 levels and the extent of CTSS RNA editing are associated with changes in cathepsin S levels in patients with atherosclerotic vascular diseases, including subclinical atherosclerosis, coronary artery disease, aortic aneurysms and advanced carotid atherosclerotic disease. These results reveal a previously unrecognized role of RNA editing in gene expression in human atherosclerotic vascular diseases.

Right subclavian double steal syndrome: a case report.

INTRODUCTION: Double-steal syndrome represents a causative factor for blood flow compromise of the cerebral vascular bed with transient neurologic symptoms. We present the case of a patient with innominate artery atherosclerotic occlusion, manifested as blood flow reversal in the vertebral and common carotid arteries. Symptomatic atherosclerotic occlusive disease of the innominate artery is relatively rare and represents less than 2% of all extracranial causes of cerebrovascular insufficiency. CASE PRESENTATION: We report on a 73-year-old male patient who presented at our hospital for the evaluation of dizziness and episodes of syncope. Angiography and color Doppler examinations documented the double syndrome as retrograde flow in the right vertebral artery and the right carotid artery. CONCLUSION: Constituting an indication for surgical correction, his condition was managed with the performance of carotid-carotid extra-anatomic bypass for the permanent reestablishment of antegrade blood flow in the vascular network supplying the brain. Carotid-carotid extra-anatomic bypass was a good option for our patient, since he remains symptom free after one year of follow up.

Gastric carcinoid tumor in association with hepatocellular carcinoma: a case report.

A second primary malignancy (SPM) can occur in patients with gastrointestinal carcinoids. A patient underwent endoscopic resection of a gastric carcinoid. Repeat gastroscopy revealed recurrence of the lesion and multiple nodular gastric lesions, while an abdominal computed tomography scan revealed a small solid lesion in the left hepatic lobe. The patient underwent total gastrectomy and wedge resection of what proved to be a hepatocellular carcinoma. This case illustrates the significance of considering SPM in every patient with gastrointestinal carcinoids. SPMs are more aggressive than carcinoids, and awareness and early resection of these tumors may improve prognosis.

Radio-frequency tissue ablation in liver trauma: an experimental study.

The liver is the most frequently injured intra-abdominal organ. Radio-frequency tissue ablation (RFA) with cooled tip electrodes is here experimentally used for the treatment of liver trauma. A grade III and a grade III to IV trauma each were produced in the livers of 10 domestic pigs. RFA was applied around the sites of injury until hemostasis was achieved. The animals were sacrificed at 0, 3, 7, 14, and 21 days and examined. The livers were subjected to histologic and radiologic examination. Two similar traumas were created in the livers of two more animals and were left surgically untreated as a control group. The two untreated animals died immediately postoperatively, proving the severity of the injuries. Hemostasis was achieved in all treated animals. Mortality and morbidity were zero. No blood, pus, bile, or other fluid was found in the abdomen at sacrifice. A three-zone pattern of lesion was recognized around the electrode placement at histology. RFA is an efficient and safe hemostatic method for grade III and grade III to IV hepatic trauma. Further studies are required for its use in humans.