The Use of Branched Endografts for the Aortic Arch in the Endovascular Era.

The endovascular realm has steadily increased its footing in the treatment of the aorta and all of its territories since the foundational case in 1990 by Parodi. The aortic arch, however, continues to be one of the last bastions for treatment via open surgery, which remains the gold standard. Significant comorbidity and prior cardiac surgery prevent open surgery from being the only preferred option, allowing novel endovascular procedures to be considered. Since 1999, more advanced endovascular systems have been created by companies such as Cook Medical, Bolton Medical, Medtronic, Endospan, Gore Medical, and, recently, Kawasumi. The unique shape and angulation of the aortic arch often require the use of custom-made grafts, though arch reconstruction may also include in situ or back-table physician alterations to off-the-shelf devices. The goal of branched endografts is to exclude the aneurysm, while maintaining flow to supra-aortic trunk vessels. Technical success and device durability are limited by the physical constraints of the aortic arch, though greater experience may yield better patient outcomes. Typically, the initial stent-graft (SG) is introduced and deployed into the arch first. Bridging SG are then inserted via axillary or carotid access. Most often, the bridging SG extends from the innominate branch to the distal innominate, and from the left carotid branch to the left common carotid. The major concern is that manipulation of catheters and wires, both within the carotid arteries and aortic arch, create the potential for emboli leading to stroke and paraplegia. The development of endovascular-only techniques for aortic arch pathology will only increase with the aging population of the United States and associated accumulation of comorbidities, making open surgery too grave of a risk.

Hybrid Repair Techniques for Complex Aneurysms and Dissections Involving the Aortic Arch and Thoracic Aorta.

Aortic aneurysms involving the ascending aorta, aortic arch, and descending thoracic aorta have been a challenging entity to surgically treat for over 60 years. Despite the mortality of the disease, early open surgical procedures also had significant morbidity and mortality. The inherent risk in treating multiple anatomic segments simultaneously led to the innovation of the staged elephant trunk (ET) approach by Borst in 1983. To avoid the thoracotomy and associated complications related to the second stage of the procedure, an endovascular completion paradigm was begun by Volodos in 1991. This theoretical hybrid technique combinined shorter and less elaborate open supra-aortic trunk debranching with less invasive endovascular exclusion and has grown since then in terms of different approaches and case volume. The rise of thoracic endovascular aortic repair (TEVAR) combined with debranching bypass has allowed certain lesions to be treated without a large scale intrathoracic open surgical procedure. The complexity and extensiveness of certain lesions, however, has necessitated a hybrid approach such as the frozen elephant trunk (FET) and the standard ET with second stage TEVAR. The former has been used to treat multifocal degenerative aneurysms, chronic dissections with aneurysm, and acute extensive dissections. After conventional proximal aortic replacement, a stent-graft (SG) is delivered antegrade through the transected arch where it is sutured proximally and then "frozen" distally via endovascular means. The FET has the advantage of avoiding a second stage, but potentially introduces a greater rate of spinal cord ischemia compared to the standard elephant trunk. Improvements on the FET procedure have included the development of more advanced hybrid SG such as the Vascutek® Thoraflex™ Hybrid graft (Vascutek Ltd, Scotland, UK), which consists of a distal en,dograft sealed to a proximal four-branched Vascutek Gelweave™ Vascutek Ltd, Scotland, UK) and incorporated sewing collar. While open surgery continues to be a component of complex aortic arch aneurysms, the development of hybrid devices that can bridge the gap between open and endovascular surgery will continue to flourish.

Shockwave lithotripsy facilitates large-bore vascular access through calcified arteries.

BACKGROUND: Our objective is to explore the Peripheral Intravascular Lithotripsy (IVL) System in the treatment of calcific access vessels during thoracic endovascular aortic repair (TEVAR), endovascular aortic repair (EVAR), and transcatheter aortic valve intervention. METHODS: This retrospective, single-center study evaluated the outcomes of patients undergoing TEVAR, EVAR, or transcatheter aortic valve intervention with severe calcific arterial disease between July 2018 and August 2019. Maximum circumferential calcification, length of calcification, and inner/outer diameter measurements were collected with curved planar reformation by medical imaging software (Aquarius APS, TeraRecon, Foster City, Calif). Effective luminal gain was calculated using the minimal inner diameter and the largest bore passed within the vessel lumen. End points included technical success, mortality, adverse events, and requirement for bail out maneuvers. Technical success was defined as successful delivery and deployment of device or endograft. RESULTS: Nine patients were included (mean age, 79.3 ± 9.79 years; range, 59-97 years]). four transcatheter aortic valve replacement, one TEVAR, one EVAR, and three fenestrated EVAR. Six patients (66.7%) had more than one artery treated; the segments treated included common iliac artery (seven patients [77.8%]), the external iliac artery (seven patients [77.8%]), and the common femoral artery (one patient [11.1%]). The average inner iliac vessel diameter was 3.38 ± 0.99 mm (range, 1.87-4.72 mm). The average outside diameter of device introduced was 7.2 ± 0.94 (range, 6.3-8.8 mm) with 229% effective luminal gain. Technical success was achieved in 100% of cases with a 0% mortality. Adjunctive measures were needed in five cases (55.6%). One vessel perforation was controlled with covered stent (Viabahn; W. L. Gore & Associates, Flagstaff, Ariz) deployment. Dissection was identified in two cases requiring stent placement. Two cases required the use of the Terumo International Systems SOLOPATH Balloon Expandable TransFemoral System (Terumo Interventional Systems, Somerset, NJ). One case deployed a Viabahn stent applying the "crack and pave" technique. CONCLUSIONS: As the population of the United States ages, calcified arterial disease will become an everyday clinical conundrum. Furthermore, the procedures for which the IVL system is geared toward facilitating will likely also increase in use. The IVL system is an additional tool in the vascular surgeon's armamentarium to obtain large-bore access in these calcified vessels. Further studies are needed to better assess the clinical effectiveness of the IVL system.

Spontaneous recanalization of a total occlusion of an infrarenal abdominal aorta after left axillary-bifemoral bypass.

Acute aortic occlusion is an infrequent clinical event with high morbidity and mortality. Management is determined by the cause of the occlusion, with thromboembolectomy used for embolic events and bypass for thrombotic events. After bypass, recanalization of a total aortic occlusion has been sparsely reported. We present a case of a total occlusion of an infrarenal abdominal aorta that was managed surgically with a left axillary-bifemoral bypass. Imaging performed 6 months postoperatively revealed a spontaneously recanalized aorta and occluded bypass graft.

Mechanochemical ablation as an alternative to venous ulcer healing compared with thermal ablation.

OBJECTIVE: We aimed to compare mechanochemical ablation (MOCA) and thermal ablation (radiofrequency ablation and endovenous laser therapy) for venous ulcer healing in patients with clinical class 6 chronic venous insufficiency. METHODS: Electronic medical records were reviewed of patients with venous ulcers who underwent truncal or perforator ablation between February 2012 and November 2015. These records contained history of venous disease and ulcer history, procedures, complications, follow-up, method of wound care, and current status of the ulcer. The patients were grouped according to the method of ablation for comparison. RESULTS: In 66 patients, 82 venous segments were treated, 29 with thermal methods and 53 with MOCA; 16% of patients had prior venous intervention. Before ablation, three patients in the thermal group had a history of deep venous thrombosis compared with seven in the MOCA group. On average, patients treated with MOCA were older (thermal ablation, 57.2 years; MOCA, 67.9 years; P = .0003). Ulcer duration before intervention ranged from 9.2 months for thermal ablation to 11.2 months for MOCA (P = NS). In total, 74% of patients treated with MOCA healed their ulcers compared with 35% of those treated with thermal ablation (P = .01). A healed ulcer was defined as elimination of ulcer depth and superficial skin coverage. The mean time to heal was 4.4 months in the thermal ablation group compared with 2.3 months with MOCA (P = .01). The mean length of follow-up was 12.8 months after thermal ablation and 7.9 months after MOCA (P = .02). Both age (P = .03) and treatment modality (P = .03) independently had an impact on ulcer healing on multiple logistic regression analysis. All but two patients were treated with an Unna boot after venous ablation. Complications included readmission of two patients with nonaccess-related infections, one nonocclusive deep venous thrombosis, and one late death unrelated to the procedure second to pneumonia in the setting of advanced colon cancer. There were three recurrent ulcers at 1 week, 2 months, and 7 months after MOCA that rehealed with Unna boot therapy and continued compression. CONCLUSIONS: MOCA is safe and effective in treating chronic venous ulcers and appears to provide comparable results to methods that rely on thermal ablation. Younger age and use of MOCA favored wound healing. MOCA was an independent predictor of ulcer healing. Randomized studies are necessary to further support our findings.