Total Iodine Contrast-free Strategy for the Endovascular Management of Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms in Chronic Kidney Disease Patients: A Pilot Study.

BACKGROUND: To retrospectively evaluate the feasibility and effectiveness of the endovascular treatment of patients with abdominal aortic aneurysm and chronic kidney disease (CKD) without the need for using iodinated contrast media throughout the diagnostic, therapeutic, and follow-up pathway. METHODS: A retrospective review of prospectively collected data concerning 251 consecutive patients presenting an abdominal aortic or aorto-iliac aneurysm who underwent endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR) from January 2019 to November 2022 at our academic institution was performed in order to identify patients with feasible anatomy with respect to manufacturer's instructions for use and with CKD. Patients whose preoperative workout included duplex ultrasound and plain computed tomography for preprocedural planning were extracted from a dedicated EVAR database. EVAR was performed with the use of carbon dioxide (CO2) as the contrast media of choice, whereas follow-up examinations consisted of either duplex ultrasound, plain computed tomography, or contrast-enhanced ultrasound. Primary endpoints were technical success, perioperative mortality, and early renal function variations. Secondary endpoints were all-type endoleaks and reinterventions, midterm aneurysm-related and kidney-related mortality. RESULTS: Forty-five patients had CKD and were treated electively (45/251, 17.9%). Of them, 17 patients were managed with a total iodinated contrast media-free strategy and constituted the object of the present study (17/45, 37.8%; 17/251, 6.8%). In 7 cases, an adjunctive planned procedure was performed (7/17, 41.2%). No intraoperative bail-out procedures were needed. This extracted cohort of patients presented similar mean preoperative and postoperative (at discharge) glomerular filtration rate values, 28.14 (SD 13.09; median 28.06, interquartile range (IQR) 20.25) ml/min/1.73 m2 and 29.33 (SD 14.61; median 27.35, IQR 22) ml/min/1.73 m2, respectively (P = 0.210). Mean follow-up was 16.4 months (SD 11.89; median 18, IQR 23). During follow-up, no graft-related complications occurred in terms of either thrombosis, type I or III endoleaks, aneurysm rupture, or conversion. The mean glomerular filtration rate at follow-up was 30.39 ml/min/1.73 m2 (SD 14.45; median 30.75, IQR 21.93), with no significant worsening in comparison with preoperative and postoperative values (P = 0.327 and P = 0.856 respectively). No aneurysm- or kidney-related deaths occurred during follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: Our initial experience shows that total iodine contrast-free abdominal aortic aneurysm endovascular management in patients with CKD may be feasible and safe. Such an approach seems to guarantee the preservation of residual kidney function without increasing the risks of aneurysm-related complications in the early and midterm postoperative periods, and it could be considered even in the case of complex endovascular procedures.

Surgical therapy of aorto-iliac aneurysm in a patient with congenital solitary pelvic kidney (CSPK): case report and literature review.

We report a case of a man with an Aorto-Iliac aneurysm and a congenital solitary pelvic kidney (CSPK). The maximum diameter of the aneurysm was 58 mm and the pelvic kidney was perfused by a single renal artery originating from the aortic bifurcation. A computed tomography scan was used for pre-operative planning and the patient underwent aorto-iliac aneurysm replacement with a Dacron graft. The renal artery was reimplanted on the Dacron right limb with a 'Carrel patch'. Several strategies were adopted to prevent renal ischemia such as sequential aortic cross clamping, selective cold perfusion of renal artery and a temporary Pruitt-Inahara shunt. The post-operative course was characterized by a transient increase in serum creatinine that did not require treatments and the patient was discharged after seven days. Congenital anomalies such as CSPK represent a challenge for the surgeon; however, the adoption of different intraoperative available strategies allowed to reduce possible complications.

Stability of the aneurysmatic sac post-EVAR could no longer be a reliable criterion of healing.

BACKGROUND: Evaluation of the impact of aneurysm sac behavior in terms of either stability or shrinkage after endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR) on long-term clinical outcomes. METHODS: A retrospective study was conducted on 1483 consecutive patients who underwent EVAR from 1999 to 2021 at our institution. 1037 patients met inclusion criteria (1037/1483, 69.9%): abdominal aortic or aorto-iliac aneurysm, elective surgery, follow-up (FU) ≥12 months. Patients who had sac stability (330/1037, 31.8%) and patients who demonstrated sac shrinkage (542/1037, 52.2%) at FU were compared; patients who presented sac increase at FU were excluded (165/1037, 16%). PRIMARY ENDPOINTS: rupture rates, need for surgical conversion, and long-term aneurysm-related mortality. Secondary endpoints: all type endoleak rates and long-term reintervention rates. RESULTS: Mean FU was 61.2 months (IQ 26-85.7 months). In terms of comorbidities, the group of patients with stable sac showed greater association with polidistrectual atherosclerotic manifestations. Estimated 12-year survival was 42.9% in the stable sac group and 65% in the shrinked group (P<0.001), although there were no significant differences in terms of freedom from aneurysm-related death (97.3% vs. 95.4% estimated at 12 years, P=0.493). Patients with sac stability had higher rates of rupture (2.1% vs. 0.6%, P=0.035) and surgical conversion (2.1% vs. 0.6%, P=0.035). The stable sac group had significantly higher rates of all type endoleak during FU (45.8% vs. 24%, P<0.001). Estimated 12-year freedom from reintervention rates were 56.2% and 83.9% respectively (P<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: After more than 20 years of EVAR experience it is probably time to reconsider the procedure clinical success parameters as a patient with a stable sac cannot be considered healed.