Endovascular treatment of brachiocephalic artery war-related injury.

INTRODUCTION: Injuries to the innominate artery are rare, but potentially fatal. Early diagnosis and treatment may avoid life-threatening complications. Endovascular surgery often has lower morbidity and mortality rates than conventional surgery. CLINICAL CASE: We reported the case of a 28-year-old Yemenite soldier who presented with a shrapnel-related chest puncture wound following a shell explosion in Djibouti causing a 5 mm pseudoaneurysm of the innominate artery without associated complications. After medical repatriation to France, the pseudoaneurysm was treated by endovascular exclusion using a covered stent. DISCUSSION: Endovascular treatment of supra-aortic trunk lesions is an alternative to surgery with fewer postoperative complications, but long-term follow-up is lacking.

Leiomyosarcoma of the superior vena cava.

Leiomyosarcoma of the superior vena cava is a very rare tumor and only a few cases have been reported, with various techniques of vascular reconstruction. We describe a new case of leiomyosarcoma of the superior vena cava in a 61-year-old woman with extension to the brachiocephalic arterial trunk. Resection and vascular reconstruction were performed using, respectively, polytetrafluoroethylene and polyethylene terephtalate vascular grafts.

Surgical treatment of an aneurysm of a distal branch of the renal artery.

Aneurysms of the renal artery and its branches are rare, but are associated with significant morbimortality due to the absence of clinical symptoms and hemorrhagic risk in the event of rupture. We report the case of a patient with an aneurysm of a distal branch of the right renal artery that measured 25 mm in diameter. The diagnosis and localization were obtained using selective arteriography. Treatment consisted of resection of the aneurysmal sac associated with closure with a saphenous vein patch rather than an endovascular treatment in order to preserve the nephronic capital. Right renal parenchymatous vascularization was satisfactory on arterial echo-Doppler and angioscanner assessment at 1 year.

Mucormycosis: a rare complication of an amputation.

Mucormycosis is a rare but serious opportunistic fungal infection. Several clinical forms have been described, including cutaneous localization that is frequently associated with soft tissue trauma or burns. We report a case of cutaneous mucormycosis in a diabetic patient with severe occlusive arterial disease. The diagnosis was made early with mold growth on an amputation wound and the presence of nonseptate hyphae on direct microscopic examination, later identified on culture as Lichtheimia ramosa. Aggressive treatment, including the control of underlying diseases, systemic and local amphotericin B, and extensive surgical debridement permitted successful outcomes.

Usefulness of 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography scan in the assessment of periprosthetic collections: report of 2 cases with opposite management.

Vascular prosthetic infection is a rare but serious complication of vascular surgery that requires rapid diagnosis and treatment. It is associated with high rates of amputation and death. The diagnosis is difficult when faced with a chronic nonspecific clinical presentation. We report 2 cases showing the diagnostic usefulness of positron emission tomography (PET). In 1 case, PET excluded with certainty the septic character of a periprosthetic collection fistulized with the skin by showing a periprosthetic fixation insufficient to diagnose an infection. In the other case, it confirmed the prosthetic infection in association with an evocative clinical picture by revealing a pathologic periprosthetic hyperfixation. PET scan therefore drew aside the diagnosis of prosthetic infection faced with a mild clinical and paraclinical presentation in the first case, and made it possible to pose it with certainty in the second case. This examination made it possible to save valuable time in 1 case and to elucidate the periprosthetic collection in the other case. Therefore, the rule of surgical explantation of any prosthesis with flow or periprosthetic collection is no more univocal.

In situ repair of a primary Brucella-infected abdominal aortic aneurysm: long-term follow-up.

Infected aortic aneurysms represent 0.85 to 1.3% of aortic aneurysms. Most often, the implicated bacteria species are Salmonella sp., Staphylococcus sp. and Streptococcus sp. Brucella-related infected aortic aneurysms are very rare. Most often, they result from endocarditis or from a local septic focus. Combined treatment by antibiotics and surgery is the standard for infectious aneurysms. In the absence of formal factual data, the surgical treatment is still discussed in the literature, especially since endovascular treatments have been in full expansion. We are reporting the case of a female patient presenting with a Brucella-related infra-renal abdominal aortic aneurysm, without primitive infectious source (area) or identified endocarditis. Surgical treatment with in situ prosthetic replacement and omentoplasty in association with adapted antibiotics allowed a favorable outcome with an excellent result after an 8-year follow up.

Vascular complications following total hip arthroplasty: a case study and a review of the literature.

Vascular complications after total hip arthroplasty (THA) are rare but represent a real risk. The diversity of clinical presentations can make diagnosis difficult. They could manifest as an immediate and acute hemorrhage or subsequent ischemia. We report the case of a patient who presented a thrombosis of the femoral artery associated with a sciatic palsy after THA for a coxa profunda. The diagnosis was actually made 3 years after surgery because of atypical symptoms. The mechanism involved was either a crash of the artery by a retractor on the anterior wall of the acetabulum, or a stretching of the artery. A review of the literature of vascular complications occurring after THA recalls the multiplicity of clinical presentations and the diagnostic difficulties. They could manifest as an immediate and acute hemorrhage or deferred ischemia, as in our case. Knowledge of these complications should help prevent them, and the diagnosis should be considered in atypical sequences after THA.

Multiple tuberculous aneurysms of the aorta.

Tuberculous aneurysms of the aorta are quite rare, but are exceptional when found in multiple locations. We report the case of multiple tuberculous aortic aneurysms of the thoracic and abdominal aorta in a 19-year-old female discovered when she consulted for thrombocytopenic purpura. The treatment for both locations included prolonged antituberculous therapy and surgical resection with cryopreserved aortic allograft patch for the reconstruction.