Cryptic mycotic abdominal aortic aneurysms: diagnosis and management.

The incidence of cryptic mycotic abdominal aortic aneurysms has relatively increased since antibiotic therapy has become available. The causative organism is the salmonella group in about 50 per cent of cases. This diagnosis should be strongly entertained in patients with fever of unknown origin, vague abdominal pain, and progressive appearance of a pulsatile abdominal mass. Aortography may be helpful in establishing the diagnosis. Some postoperative graft infections may be due to unrecognized cryptic mycotic infection of the aorta and not from external contamination, as previously supposed. Construction of an axillofemoral bypass graft through clean tissue is advised for the successful treatment of the grossly infected infrarenal aortic aneurysm. Three surviving patients with cryptic mycotic abdominal aortic aneurysms are added to the sixteen surviving patients already reported in the literature.

Endarterectomy of the internal carotid artery.

Results of 219 operations in 171 patients for arteriosclerotic stenosis of the internal carotid artery were consistently good in patients with lateralizing, transient ischemic attacks. Although less consistent, relief of symptoms may be expected in a high proportion of patients with significant stenosis and more nonspecific symptoms. A small number of patients (10 percent) may have significant stenosis without a bruit. Asymptomatic stenosis, which has an unpredictable prognosis, may be operated upon with low mortality and morbidity. The use of local anesthesia and shunting when necessary proved to be the safest technique for the authors.