Carotid artery dissection. Correlation of different diagnostic techniques.

Dissection of the carotid artery is a rare entity, but a frequent cause of cerebrovascular accidents in young adults and can result in severe neurologic consequences that are often irreversible. Carotid dissection can be secondary to trauma, brisk rotation of hyperextension of the neck, as a complication in certain diseases. It may lead to distal embolization, complete occlusion of the vessel, extensive or limited stenosis, aneurysmal form which has the appearance of a berry aneurysm or resolution of the process with complete patency of the dissected vessel. The authors find color-Doppler sonography to be an invaluable tool in the evaluation of such a process, since it is non invasive, readily available, relatively inexpensive and can yield detailed information about the lumen of the vessel, blood flow, mural and intramural structures. Furthermore, in comparison to MRA, color-Doppler sonography is particularly suitable for the early detection of thrombus. Ultrasonographic investigation has some methodologic limitations: occlusion cannot always be demonstrated directly because of its high cervical location and detection of aneurysms localized in the retrostyloid++ space is usually not possible. The combination of ultrasonographic findings and MRA is the method of choice for follow-up on evaluation of carotid dissection and helps make the decision as to whether one should proceed to angiography in this young age group.

[Coarctation of he abdominal aorta]. / Coarctation of the abdominal aorta.

The Authors report a 49-year-old woman complaining of slight nocturnal lower limb pain in whom an uncommon type IV coarctation of the infrarenal aorta associated with multiple renal arteries, slight hypoplasia of iliac and femoral arteries bilaterally, and a retroaortic left vein were found. She underwent an aorto-aortic prosthetic repair. The correction of this vascular condition was followed by partial improvement of her symptoms. The suspicion of an associated ischaemic spinal origin of these painful symptoms may be suggested by the typical and often complex presence of multiple vascular malformations described in patients with coarctation of the abdominal aorta.

Clinical performance of low-profile bioprostheses: results at 10 years.

The purpose of this retrospective study is to evaluate the long-term performance of the Liotta minimally intrusive bioprosthesis (MIB) and to identify its most important risk factors. From January 1980 to March 1982, 73 patients (30 males and 43 females; mean age 45.5 years +/- 11.7 standard deviation; range 11 to 64) underwent operation for heart valve replacement with an MIB. Fifty-two mitral valve replacements (MVR), 16 aortic valve replacements (AVR), 4 mitral and aortic valve replacements (MAVR), and 1 mitral and tricuspid valve replacement (MTVR) have been performed (78 MIBs implanted). Global operative mortality has been 8.2% (6/73): 9.6% (5/52) for MVR and 6.2% (1/16) for AVR. The 10-year follow-up reaches 519 patient-years and 581 valve-years, and is 96.5% and 93.9% complete, respectively. Actuarial freedom from any patient- or valve-related event has been calculated at one time with its hazard function and its incidence normalized per 100 patient- and/or valve-years; statistical significance of difference between curves has been assessed. In this report, overall actuarial survival at 10 years is 79.4% +/- 5.3% SEM (standard error of the mean), including operative deaths (incidence = 2.6% per patient-year). Two patients experienced periprosthetic leakage (PL) at 4 and 9 years, respectively (incidence = 0.4% per valve-year). One patient underwent reoperation because of otherwise untreatable prosthetic valve endocarditis (PVE) at 5 years (0.2% per valve-year).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

[Surgical treatment through embolectomy of embolism of the superior mesenteric artery (author's transl)]. / Embolia dell'arteria mesenterica superiore. Trattamento chirurgico mediante embolectomia.

The Authors present four cases of embolism of the superior mesenteric artery treated surgically, with satisfactory results, through embolectomy with Fogarty's catheter. The Authors affirm the necessity of always following this type of intervention, given its simplicity and the high rate of mortality of non treated embolism. Some anatomical and physio-pathological considerations are remembered and diagnostic and surgical promptness are recommended.