Kidney transplantation following iliac revascularization in severe atherosclerosis: a comparative study.

BACKGROUND: Kidney transplantation (KT) has become the standard of care for patients with end-stage renal disease. However, as atherosclerosis progresses with time on dialysis, it causes increasing difficulties in implanting the graft. This is a comparative study analyzing complications and graft survival of recipients with iliac revascularization before transplantation. METHODS: Between January 2006 and December 2015, 1691 kidney transplants were performed at our institution. We retrospectively analyzed eighteen patients with peripheral arterial disease (PAD) with the necessity of vascular revascularization before kidney transplantation to protect the inflow to the renal graft and to optimizing blood supply to the extremities. The primary endpoint included patient survival and graft survival. The secondary endpoints evaluate perioperative and early postoperative complication rates after kidney transplantation. RESULTS: All patients enrolled in this study underwent two consecutive surgical procedures. No patient reported limb loss, and there was no additional perioperative morbidity or mortality related to the vascular procedure. Primary endpoints such as graft survival without dialysis and overall patient survival show 1-month survival of 100%, 1-year survival of 94.1%, and 5-year survival of 84.70%, respectively. One graft failure occurred 8 months after transplantation due to acute rejection, and there were two deaths over follow-up period due to myocardial infarction. CONCLUSIONS: Vascular repair before kidney transplantation is safe, and results are suggestive that it prolongs graft survival. These promising results should encourage other centers to address vascular repair before the transplantation to optimize blood supply to the extremity and the future graft. Although, the interpretation of our results must be cautiously because of the small and heterogeneous sample size, and the limitations of retrospective study design. Prospective trials with larger study populations are needed to confirm the results of this study and to identify significant differences.

Improving Limb Salvage for Chronic Limb-Threatening Ischemia With Spinal Cord Stimulation: A Retrospective Analysis.

INTRODUCTION: Chronic limb-threatening ischemia (CLTI) represents the most severe form of peripheral artery disease (PAD). Up to a third of CLTI patients are not eligible to receive first-line treatments such as bypass surgery or endovascular interventions. Epidural spinal cord stimulation (SCS) has been used as a method to improve microcirculatory blood flow and relieve ischemic pain in CTLI patients. The aim of the study was to evaluate limb salvage, ulcer closure, and clinical changes of SCS implanted CTLI patients at 1-year follow-up. METHODS: Eligible patients had end-stage lower limb PAD unresponsive to medical therapy and not amenable to surgical reconstruction. Patients were candidates for amputation, but limb loss was not inevitable (Fontaine stage III and IV). Pain intensity and skin temperature in the ischemic area (visual analogue scale), quality of life (WHOQoL-BREF), and ankle/brachial blood pressure index (ABI) were recorded at routine follow-up visits. Data were analyzed retrospectively. RESULTS: 29 patients underwent SCS implantation at one vascular center. The minimum follow-up period was 30 months. Limb survival at 1-year follow-up was 97% (28/29) and 73% (11/15) had complete closure of limb ulcers. Pain intensity, skin temperature, and quality of life progressively improved up to 12 months after implant, with Fontaine stage III patients improving more substantially than Fontaine stage IV patients. SCS therapy did not affect ABI measurement. No complications related to the device or procedure occurred. CONCLUSIONS: SCS is a valid alternative in patients unsuitable for revascularization. The quality of results depends on both a strict selection of patients by vascular specialists and the frequency of follow-up controls. The therapy may be more beneficial in patients classified as Fontaine stage III.

Intraoperative use of transit time flow measurement improves patency of newly created radiocephalic arteriovenous fistulas in patients requiring hemodialysis.

BACKGROUND: The autologous arteriovenous fistula is the primary choice to establish hemodialysis access without high failure rates. Intraoperative ultrasound flow measurements of newly created autologous arteriovenous fistulas represent a possibility of quality control and may therefore be a tool to assess their functionality. The aim of our study was to correlate intraoperative blood flow with access patency. METHODS: Between March 2012 and March 2015, intraoperative transit time flow measurements were collected on 89 patients. Measurements were performed 5-10 min after the creation of a standardized anastomosis using 3-6 mm flow probes. To examine the correlation between intraoperative blood flow and access patency, groups of patients with high (> 200 mL/min) versus low flow (< 200 mL/min) were enrolled. Patients were assessed clinically and with ultrasound every 3 months. Data were analyzed retrospectively. RESULTS: In the current short-term follow-up, including 89 patients (age 62 ± 3 years), 61 (68.5%) of the autologous arteriovenous fistulas were currently being used in an observation period ranging from 3 months to 3 years (mean observation period 546 ± 95 days) postoperatively. The intraoperative blood flow in patients with functioning autologous arteriovenous fistula (78) was significantly higher than that of patients without functioning autologous arteriovenous fistulas (407 ± 25 vs 252 ± 42 mL/min, respectively; p < 0.005) (11). CONCLUSION: The intraoperative measurement of blood flow is a useful tool to predict the outcome of maturation in autologous arteriovenous fistula. With this method, technical problems can be detected and corrected intraoperatively. Routine implementation of intraoperative flow measurements has to be examined by prospective controlled trials.