[Recombinant activated factor VII in the treatment of intractable non-surgical bleeding following major vascular procedures].

INTRODUCTION: A recombinant form of activated factor VII (rFVIIa) is a haemostatic drug that is approved for use in haemophiliacs with antibodies to factor VIII or factor IX. Most recent studies and clinical experience have shown that rFVIIa (NovoSeven, Novo Nordisk A/S, Denmark) gives extreme haemostatic effect in patients with severe "non-haemophilic" bleeding produced after trauma and major surgery. OBJECTIVE: We present our preliminary experience of the use of rFVIIa in vascular surgery when conventional haemostatic measures are inadequate. METHOD: There were 32 patients divided into five groups: Group I--14 patients with ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysms; Group II--10 patients with thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysms; Group III--5 patients with retroperitoneal tumours involving great abdominal vessels; Group IV--2 patients with portal hypertension and Group V--one patient with iatrogenic injury of brachial artery and vein during fibrinolytic treatment, because of myocardial infarction. RESULTS: Clinical improvement was detected following treatment in 29 patients. Bleeding was successfully controlled as evidenced by improved haemodynamic parameters and decreased inotropic and transfusion requirements. CONCLUSION: In vascular patients more liberal use of rFVlla is limited, because no randomized controlled trial has proved its efficacy and safety in such patients; while also keeping in mind that the price of a 4.8 mg of rFVIIa is $4080. We recommend the use of rFVIIa in vascular surgery only during and after operative treatment of thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysms, ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysms, retroperitoneal tumours involving the aorta and/or inferior vena cava, as well as portal hypertension, when non-surgical massive uncontrolled bleeding are present.

[Surgical treatment of abdominal tumours closely related to major blood vessels].

INTRODUCTION: Radical operative treatment of abdominal tumours closely related to major blood vessels often demands complex vascular procedures. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this paper was to present elementary principles and results of the complex procedures, based on 46 patients operated on at the Institute for Cardiovascular Diseases, Clinical Centre of Serbia, Belgrade, from January 1999 to July 2006. METHOD: Primary localisation of the tumour was the kidney in 14 patients, the suprarenal gland in 2, the retroperitoneum in 23 and the testis in 7 patients. Histologically, the most frequent were the following: renal carcinoma in 14 patients, teratoma in 7, liposarcoma in 5, fibrosarcoma and lymphoma in 3 patients. The tumour compressed abdominal aorta occurred in 3 cases, vena cava inferior in 5 and both the abdominal aorta and vena cava inferior in 11 cases. In 4 cases the tumour infiltrated the abdominal aorta, in 11 the vena cava inferior and in 8 both of them. In two patients, the tumour compressed the vena cava inferior and infiltrated the aorta; in two patients the aorta was compressed and the vena cava was infiltrated. In three cases only the exploration was performed due to multiple abdominal organ infiltration. The ex tempore biopsy showed the type of tumour in which the radical surgical treatment did not improve the prognosis. In 20 cases of tumour compression, subadventitional excision was performed. In 23 cases of infiltration, the tumour excision and vascular reconstruction had to be performed. Intraoperative blood cell saving and autotransfusion were applied in 27 patients. RESULTS: The lethal outcome happened in 3 (6.5%) patients during hospitalization. In other patients all reconstructed blood vessels were patent during the postoperative hospitalization period. CONCLUSION: Treatment of the abdominal tumours closely related to major blood vessels must be interdisciplinary, considering diagnostics, operability estimation and additional measures. Tumour reduction cannot improve long term prognosis, and has no major impact on life quality. There have been not many papers that analyse the long term results after such complex operations proving their appropriateness.

[Successful revascularization of the kidney--3 case reports]. / Revaskularizacija bubrega--prikaz tri bolesnika.

Three cases of successful kidney revascularization and recovery of renal function are presented in this study. In all three cases, renal failure and renovascular hypertension were caused by renal artery occlusion associated with aortic aneurysm (two abdominal and one thoracoabdominal). Prior to operation, one patient required dialysis 4 months, one 25 days and one 2 days. After kidney revascularization, renal function recovered immediately in the first case, in the second case after three months, and in the third case after 10 days. In one case, blood pressure restored to normal without medical therapy, while in two other cases blood pressure decreased nearly to normal with minimal medical therapy. In appropriately selected cases, revascularization of the occluded renal artery is recommended for treatment of both renal failure and renovascular hypertension. In such cases, collateral circulation is crucial to enable the preservation of dysfunctional kidney.