Screening a high-risk population for abdominal aortic aneurysm.

Abdominal aortic aneurysmal disease may lead to serious or fatal complications. Recent publications have noted the presence of aneurysms in as many as 14% of male patients older than 60 years with a history of cigarette smoking and peripheral vascular disease. To identify the prevalence of abdominal aortic aneurysm in a similar group of patients, a prospective screening study of male patients more than 60 years of age who have severe peripheral or cerebrovascular disease was performed. This article presents the results of this study and examines the rationale for screening for abdominal aortic aneurysm.

Infected femorodistal bypass: is graft removal mandatory?

Infected lower extremity bypass grafts have been associated with high rates of limb loss. Traditionally treatment has included graft excision. To compare aggressive local treatment, without graft removal, with more conventional graft excision, we reviewed 38 consecutive patients with 39 infected lower extremity bypasses treated during the last 10 years. The grafts used were prosthetic in 33 cases, vein in 4, and composite in 2. Median follow-up was 2.7 years. Twenty-eight infected grafts were treated with either complete (14) or partial (14) graft removal. Nine new grafts were placed. Recurrent infection developed in five cases, and two patients died of complications of graft infection. Ten of 20 limbs at risk were lost. Eleven patients with patent bypasses (4 vein, 2 composite, 5 prosthetic) were treated without graft excision. Treatment of five patients in this group included muscle transposition. Five patients were treated with incision and drainage of abscesses, and one had excision of a persistent sinus tract. One patient underwent major amputation 6.3 years after treatment of graft infection. Limb salvage was significantly higher (p = 0.012, log-rank test) than in patients treated with graft excision. One patient died, and no recurrent infections developed; these were not significant differences compared with those having graft excision. We conclude that aggressive local treatment of infected lower extremity bypass grafts, including drainage, debridement, and muscle transposition may treat infection in selected patients without the need for graft removal and with rates of limb salvage superior to those obtained with excisional therapy.

Stump pressure, the contralateral carotid artery, and electroencephalographic changes.

Electroencephalographic (EEG) monitoring and measurement of stump pressure are the most widely employed methods of assessing the risk of cerebral ischemia during carotid endarterectomy. The status of the contralateral carotid artery has also been thought to influence the need for placing a shunt. The relationship of EEG monitoring, stump pressure, and the contralateral carotid artery has not been completely delineated. We retrospectively reviewed these three variables in 113 patients undergoing 124 carotid endarterectomies. The contralateral artery was classified as occluded, stenotic (greater than 50% decrease in diameter), or nonstenotic. There was a 48% incidence of EEG changes with contralateral occlusion, 18% with stenosis, and 21% with nonstenotic arteries (p = 0.014). There was a 73% incidence of EEG changes when the stump pressure was less than 25 mm Hg, 32% when the stump pressure was 25 to 50 mm Hg, and 2% when the stump pressure was greater than 50 mm Hg (p less than 0.001). There was no significant difference in the mean stump pressure for patients with occlusion (43.8 mm Hg), stenosis (44.7 mm Hg), or nonstenotic contralateral arteries (51.3 mm Hg). All patients with contralateral occlusion and a stump pressure less than 25 mm Hg had EEG changes. No patient with a stump pressure greater than 50 mm Hg and a patent contralateral artery had EEG changes. Although the incidence of EEG changes in the majority of patients was not accurately predicted by the stump pressure and the status of the contralateral carotid artery, stump pressure less than or equal to 50 mm Hg was sensitive, identifying 97% of patients with EEG changes.

Symptomatic atherosclerotic stenotic disease of an aberrant right subclavian artery.

Symptomatic atherosclerotic stenosis of an aberrant subclavian artery is exceedingly rare. Herein we describe a patient with this diagnosis who presented with arm claudication, and was treated with carotid-subclavian bypass.

Long-term evaluation following resection of apparently benign pheochromocytoma(s)/paraganglioma(s).

In the absence of distant disease, the pathologic diagnosis of malignancy in pheochromocytoma or paraganglioma is impossible. In an effort to establish the true incidence of recurrence in this disease, we have analyzed long-term follow-up (average, 15.8 years) of 98 patients who underwent complete resection of localized, noninvasive, histologically-benign pheochromocytomas and paragangliomas at our institution between 1960 and 1976. Eighty-eight patients had nonfamilial, sporadic pheochromocytoma/paraganglioma. Nine had multiple endocrine neoplasia (MEN) type 2 (2A: 7, 2B: 2), and 1 had familial pheochromocytoma. Seventy-nine patients had single pheochromocytomas; 10 had single extraadrenal tumors (paragangliomas); and 9 had multicentric or bilateral adrenal tumors. Six patients (6.5%) developed recurrent pheochromocytoma after documentation of normal postoperative urinary catecholamine levels. One of these patients had MEN 2A. The recurrences developed at intervals from 5 to 13 years following initial resection. These were distant in 3 patients, local in 2, and both local and distant in a single patient. None of the recurrences occurred in the 13 patients who, on pathologic rereview, had either local or vascular invasion. No paraganglioma recurred. Life-long follow-up of all patients who have had pheochromocytomas or paragangliomas resected is mandatory.

Nonpancreatic primary tumors with metastasis to the pancreas.

A retrospective review of 27 patients with metastatic lesions of the pancreas was conducted. Tissue confirmation of the diagnosis was obtained in all patients. The colon and lung were the most common sites of primary tumor, but a wide variety of primary sites was also found. Pain and jaundice were the most common presenting symptoms. Most patients were managed without pancreatic resection. Mean survival time after diagnosis of pancreatic metastasis was 8.7 months. The diagnosis of metastatic tumors to the pancreas should be considered in all patients with a pancreatic mass, particularly in those with a previously diagnosed malignant lesion.