Acute carotid artery thrombosis: description of 12 surgically treated cases.

The morbidity and mortality of stroke secondary to acute internal carotid artery thrombosis range from 40 to 69% and from 15 to 55%, respectively, after purely medical treatment. This report describes a series of 12 patients who underwent urgent surgical treatment for primary acute carotid artery thrombosis between January 1999 and December 2002. Upon admission, all patients had severe neurologic deficits contralateral to carotid artery thrombosis. One patient experienced ongoing changes in the level of consciousness. The interval between the onset of symptoms and admission was less than 6 hr in all cases. Initial work-up in all patients included a brain computed tomographic scan with contrast injection and carotid duplex scan. The operative procedure consisted of carotid thomboemdarterectomy after shunt placement with prosthetic patch closure. Intraoperative angiography was performed in all cases. Following treatment, we observed deterioration of neurologic status leading to death in one case; improvement with partial regression of initial neurologic deficit in two cases, including one patient who died from causes unrelated to carotid artery disease; and full neurologic recovery in nine cases. The delay to revascularization was longer than 6 hr in both patients who died. These data support surgical intervention for carotid artery thrombosis in selected patients without major disturbances of consciousness or hemorrhagic infarction, provided that the delay to revascularization is less than 6 hr.

Dissection of the abdominal aorta in blunt trauma: Endovascular or conventional surgical management?

BACKGROUND: Dissection of the abdominal aorta caused by blunt trauma is a rare injury, often complicated by thrombosis within the true and false lumens and sometimes aortic rupture. The mortality rate with conservative medical management is approximately 75%, whereas it ranges from 18% to 37% with surgical treatment. METHODS: At our institution, 7 of the 87 patients admitted because of blunt aortic trauma, between January 1995 and January 2002, had abdominal aortic dissection. RESULTS: Four patients were treated using endovascular techniques by percutaneous stent placement. The indications for endovascular management were lower limb ischemia in one case and extension of the dissection in two; one patient was asymptomatic. Aortic dissection was complicated by ischemic paraplegia in two patients, and both were treated by conventional operative repair. One patient was managed medically because of a minimal intimal disruption. No deaths were related to the aortic dissection or its treatment. Angiographic and computed tomographic (CT) studies showed thrombosis of the false lumen and complete obliteration of the dissection in the endovascular group. The neurologic condition of the two paraplegic patients either cleared completely or partially improved. CONCLUSION: In the absence of ischemic paraplegia or other injuries that require emergency surgery, endovascular treatment is a safe and efficient method for treating traumatic infrarenal aortic dissection.

Endovascular repair for acute traumatic rupture of the thoracic aorta.

BACKGROUND: We report endovascular treatment of acute traumatic rupture of the thoracic aorta as a potential alternative to open surgery for high-risk patients. METHODS: Between January 2001 and July 2002, 9 patients with acute traumatic rupture of the thoracic aorta were treated with a stent-graft. In all cases the endovascular management was selected because of age, associated polytrauma, or comorbidities. Preoperative workup included chest computed tomography scan, transoesophageal echography, and angiography. The devices used were the Excluder and the Talent stent-grafts. RESULTS: Eight patients underwent immediate repair and 1 patient was treated within 5 days of the accident because of delayed diagnosis of aortic rupture after surgical management of spleen rupture. The stent-graft was successfully expanded in all patients through the common femoral artery (n = 7) or the common iliac artery (n = 2). There was no perioperative death, renal failure, or neurologic complication (paraplegia or stroke). In 1 patient the computed tomography scan at 7 days postoperatively showed proximal endoleak requiring placement of a second stent-graft. Follow-up ranged from 4 to 20 months. All spiral computed tomography scans performed during follow-up revealed no evidence of endoleak, migration, or alteration of the stent-graft. CONCLUSIONS: Endovascular repair in the acute phase of traumatic rupture of the thoracic aorta is technically feasible and safe, and may represent an alternative to open surgery for high-risk patients.

Ruptured aneurysm of the infrarenal abdominal aorta: impact of age and postoperative complications on mortality.

Between 1985 and 2000, a total of 871 patients underwent surgical treatment for infrarenal abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA), including 98 (11.2%) presenting with ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysms (RAAA). An optimized operative protocol was used to treat 77 RAAA starting in January 1989. The main features of the optimized protocol are routine use of intraoperative autotransfusion, revascularization by aortoaortic bypass, absence of systemic heparinization, and use of a collagen-impregnated prosthesis. Intraoperative mortality (IOM) was 3.8%. Postoperative mortality at 1 month (POM1) was 25.9% and postoperative mortality at 3 months (POM3) was 33.7%. Heart failure (p <0.001), hemodynamic shock (p <0.001), and hemorrhage (p = 0.04) were the only complications correlated with POM1. Pneumonia (p = 0.01) and sepsis (p = 0.01) were the only complications correlated with POM3. Isolated acute renal insufficiency was not a significant risk factor for postoperative mortality. Using a cutoff of 75 years, there was a significant age-related difference (p = 0.025) for POM1 but not for IOM and POM3. The findings of this study show that optimizing the operative protocol decreases mortality related to RAAA. The main predictor of POM1 was hemodynamic status while the main predictor of POM3 was infection. Isolated acute renal insufficiency was not a risk factor for mortality. Age should not be considered a contraindication for operative treatment.

Improvement in proximal aortic endograft fixation: an experimental study using different stent-grafts in human cadaveric aortas.

PURPOSE: To compare the proximal fixation characteristics of different types of stent-grafts (SG) and the adjunctive effect of a proximally placed Palmaz stent. METHODS: Human cadaveric aortas were obtained at autopsy and cut into 30 aortic segments. Appropriately oversized (10% to 20%) commercial stent-grafts (Zenith, Ancure, Excluder, Talent) and 4 configurations of homemade Palmaz-based stent-grafts (polytetrafluoroethylene or polyester coverings each with no uncovered proximal edge or a 20-mm bare section of stent) were implanted 20 mm into an aortic segment and balloon dilated. Each segment was placed in an experimental apparatus to measure the dislodgment force. Bare Palmaz stents were used to reinforce the proximal fixation of the commercial stent-grafts, and the measurements were repeated. Manual anastomoses were made and their dislodgment force tested for comparison. RESULTS: The median dislodgment force ranged from 6.5 N for the Excluder to 26.5 N for the Zenith (8.0 N for the Talent, 11.8 N for the Ancure, and 8.1 to 10.7 N for the various Palmaz stent-graft designs). There was no significant difference between the Zenith and the Ancure groups or between the Excluder and the Talent groups. However, the Zenith and Ancure devices required significantly higher (p=0.0004) force (approximately 25%) to displace them than the other stent-grafts tested. With the Palmaz stent added to the proximal attachment site, the median dislodgment force for the different commercial endografts was significantly improved for all devices (p<0.03): 34% for the Zenith device, 69% for the Ancure, 73% for the Talent, and 80% for the Excluder endoprosthesis. CONCLUSIONS: The Zenith stent-graft had the best resistance to dislodgment. An additional Palmaz stent placed at the proximal attachment site greatly improves endograft fixation regardless of the type of stent-graft. For complex aneurysm necks or for intraoperative type I endoleak management, an adjunctive Palmaz stent could be used.

Video-assisted thoracoscopic sympathectomy for palmar hyperhidrosis: results in 102 cases.

The purpose of this retrospective study was to evaluate the immediate and long-term outcome of video-assisted thoracoscopic sympathectomy for idiopathic palmar hyperhidrosis. Between January 1996 and December 2000, a total of 67 patients underwent 102 sympathectomy procedures with excision of the sympathetic chain between the second and fourth sympathetic ganglion. The mean duration of hospitalization was 1.7 +/- 0.6 days. Five patients were lost to follow-up. Mean duration of follow-up for the 96 sympathectomy procedures in the remaining 62 patients was 38 +/- 6.3 months. Patient outcome showed that video-assisted thoracoscopic sympathectomy is the treatment of choice for idiopathic palmar hyperhidrosis. Long-term patient satisfaction is excellent.

Carotid artery stenting for stenosis following revascularization or cervical irradiation.

PURPOSE: To assess the safety and efficacy of carotid artery stenting (CAS) for stenosis following revascularization or cervical irradiation. METHODS: Twenty-two CAS procedures performed on 21 patients (20 men; mean age 69.3 years, range 58-87) from June 1997 to June 2000 were retrospectively reviewed. There were 5 radiation-induced carotid stenoses in 4 patients and 17 postsurgical restenoses. The mean interval between carotid revascularization and CAS was 48.1 months (range 6-264), while the elapsed time from irradiation to CAS was always >8 years (range 8-28). Seven patients screened during this period were excluded from CAS because of a duplex-defined >50% hypoechoic lesion and/or angiographic documentation of an irregular ulcerated stenosis. RESULTS: Four Palmaz and 16 Wallstents were successfully deployed in 20 arteries; 1 access failure prompted conversion to surgery and a stent delivery failure resulted in 1 patient receiving balloon dilation only (technical success 91%). No complications were encountered in the periprocedural period, and no neurological events were observed during a mean follow-up of 16.6 months (range 3-36). One patient died at 20 months from an unrelated cause. One (4.8%) restenosis was detected after 1 year in the patient who did not receive a stent. CONCLUSIONS: CAS is a safe alternative to conventional surgery in patients with carotid artery stenosis following surgical revascularization or cervical irradiation provided preoperative testing excludes stenoses at risk for embolism.