Superior mesenteric arteriovenous fistula embolization with a vascular plug for upper gastrointestinal hemorrhage: a case report.

BACKGROUND: Superior mesenteric arteriovenous fistula is a rare vascular anomaly often presenting with sequelae of portal hypertension, heart failure, or mesenteric ischemia. This report describes a patient with a previously unidentified superior mesenteric arteriovenous fistula who presented with variceal bleeding, thought to be the leading cause of mortality associated with this condition. Although this patient was initially referred for a transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt procedure, following a thorough review of her clinical history and imaging, she instead underwent embolization of the arteriovenous fistula likely responsible for her symptoms. CASE PRESENTATION: A 75-year-old woman with a past surgical history of extensive small bowel resection presented with active variceal bleeding requiring transfusions. She was referred to vascular and interventional radiology for transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt procedure; however, her clinical presentation was inconsistent with cirrhosis. This prompted a further review of her imaging, which identified a superior mesenteric arteriovenous fistula as the probable etiology of her varices. This fistula was subsequently embolized with a vascular plug and follow-up upper endoscopy at 1-month demonstrated complete resolution of her varices. CONCLUSIONS: This report highlights a potential etiology of variceal bleeding in the acutely ill patient. Through a thorough consultation, the patient described here was able to avoid a procedure with the potential to cause catastrophic consequences, and instead receive the appropriate treatment for an uncommon condition. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level 4, Case Report.

Recruiting Medical Students to Interventional Radiology: Current State of Affairs.

OBJECTIVE: Interventional radiology/diagnostic radiology (IR/DR) is the newest primary specialties offered to trainees, one that medical students can now apply to directly out of medical school. However, medical students are disadvantaged in that the integrated IR/DR pathway requires early decision when often radiology rotations are not part of the core clerkship curriculum. Based upon results from a survey to Integrated IR/DR Program Directors, we report strategies being used by programs to introduce and attract medical students to IR. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A questionnaire was written touching on various aspects of medical student engagement. The questionnaire was sent out electronically to 51 IR/DR Program Directors and answers were collated by the Society of Interventional Radiology Resident Fellow Student Section, IR Residency Training Committee. RESULTS: Eighteen responses were recorded from programs across the country. All programs encouraged applying to both DR and IR programs. All except one offered research opportunities (94%). The majority offered shadowing opportunities, had dedicated IR interest groups, and invited medical students to device workshops (78%). Planned informal opportunities for medical students to meet faculty and a dedicated department website were made available by most (67%). Little more than half invited medical students to journal clubs (59%). Formal medical student-faculty mentorship program and social media outreach initiatives like Facebook, Student Doctor Network, Twitter, LikedIn, Youtube, and podcasts rounded out the bottom two (50%). Importantly, respondents indicated that they were interested in hearing the results of the survey. CONCLUSION: Our survey offers a snapshot of exactly what program directors are doing to address the issue of medical student recruitment.

Step-by-Step Approach to Management of Type II Endoleaks.

Seventy-five percent of abdominal aortic aneurysms are now treated by endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR) rather than open repair, given the decreased periprocedural mortality, complications, and length of hospital stay for EVAR compared to the surgical counterpart. An endoleak is a potential complication after EVAR, characterized by continued perfusion of the aneurysm sac after stent graft placement. Type II endoleak is the most common endoleak, and often has a benign course with spontaneous resolution, occurring in the first 6 months after repair. However, these type II endoleaks may result in pressurization of the aneurysm sac and potentially sac rupture. They occur from retrograde collateral blood flow into the aneurysm sac, typically from a lumbar artery or the inferior mesenteric artery. Alternative sources include accessory renal, gonadal, median sacral arteries, and the internal iliac artery. We will discuss our protocol for post-EVAR imaging surveillance and potential type II endoleak treatment strategies, including transarterial, translumbar, transcaval, and perigraft approaches, as well as open surgery.

Type II endoleaks: diagnosis and treatment algorithm.

Elective abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) repair is recommended for aneurysms greater than 5.5 cm, symptomatic, or rapidly expanding more than 0.5 cm in 6 months. Seventy-five percent of AAAs today are treated with endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR) rather than open repair. This is fostered by the lower periprocedural mortality, complications, and length of hospital stay associated with EVAR. However, some studies have demonstrated EVAR to result in higher reintervention rates than with open repair, largely due to endoleaks. Type II is the most common, making up 10-25% of all endoleaks. Type II endoleaks, can potentially enlarge and pressurize the aneurysm sac with a risk of rupture. However, many type II endoleaks spontaneously resolve or never lead to sac enlargement. Imaging surveillance and approaches to management of type II endoleaks are reviewed here.

Percutaneous access planning, techniques and considerations for endovascular aortic repair (EVAR).

Percutaneous endovascular aortic repair (EVAR) has transformed the field of aortic repair. As techniques and devices improve, interventionalists continue to expand the boundaries of what is possible, enabling these life-saving procedures to be performed on a wider range of more technically challenging cases. This article discusses endovascular access considerations for EVAR including; ultrasound guidance, preclose technique, access vessel options, innovative devices, and bailout strategies that interventionalists should be familiar with to optimize patient outcomes.

Endovascular Access for Challenging Anatomies in Peripheral Vascular Interventions.

Vascular interventionalists continue to expand the scope and breadth of endovascular procedures that we offer to our patients. However, we often have to overcome various anatomical and technical challenges to deliver an endovascular device. This article should give the modern interventionalist an array of technical tips and tricks to enable them to overcome various challenging anatomical features such as vessel tortuosity, vascular calcifications, and increasing abdominal pannus. We also hope to elucidate alternative accesses such as radial access, pedal access, popliteal access, and direct stent access as well as direct aortic access.

Percutaneous Large Arterial Access Closure Techniques.

Endovascular repair has replaced open surgical repair as the standard of care for treatment of abdominal and thoracic aortic aneurysms in appropriately selected patients owing to its decreased morbidity and length of stay and excellent clinical outcomes. Similarly, there is a progressive trend toward total percutaneous repair of the femoral artery using percutaneous suture-mediated closure devices over open surgical repair due to decreased complications and procedure time. This article describes the techniques of closure for large-bore vascular access most commonly used in endovascular treatment of abdominal and thoracic aortic aneurysms, but could similarly be applied to any procedure requiring large-bore arterial access, such as transcatheter aortic valve replacement.

Spinal cord protection with a cerebrospinal fluid drain in a patient undergoing thoracic endovascular aortic repair.

Paralysis and paraparesis are dreaded complications of thoracic endovascular aortic repair (TEVAR) that occur with an incidence of 2%-6%. Risks factors include the type of thoracic aortic pathology treated, coverage of the left subclavian artery origin without revascularization, concomitant infrarenal abdominal aortic aneurysm repair, extent of stent graft coverage of the thoracic aorta, and renal failure. Cerebral spinal fluid (CSF) drains have been advocated as one of several protective strategies to prevent spinal cord ischemia. This case discussion briefly addresses the evidence supporting the use of CSF drains in patients undergoing TEVAR and offers an algorithm for managing CSF drains.