Hybrid Room: Does it Offer Better Accuracy in the Proximal Deployment of Infrarenal Aortic Endograft?

BACKGROUND: This work aims to evaluate the impact of hybrid rooms and their advanced tools on the accuracy of proximal deployment of infrarenal bifurcated endograft (EVAR). METHODS: A retrospective single center analysis was conducted between January 2015 and March 2019 including consecutive patients that underwent EVAR. Groups were defined whether the procedure was performed in a hybrid operating room (HOR group) or using a mobile 2D fluoroscopic imaging system (non-HOR group). The accuracy of the proximal deployment was estimated by the distance (mm) between the bottom of the lowest renal artery (LwRA) origin and the endograft radiopaque markers parallax (LwRA/EDG distance) after curvilinear reconstruction. The impact of HOR on the LwRA/EDG distance was investigated using a multiple linear regression model. A composite "proximal neck"-related complications event was studied (Cox models). RESULTS: Overall, 93 patients (87 %male, median age 73 years) were included with 49 in the HOR group and 44 in the non-HOR group. Preoperative CTA analysis of the proximal neck exhibited similar median length, but different median aortic diameter (P = 0.012) and median beta angulation (P = 0.027) between groups. The median LwRA/EDG distance was shorter in the HOR group (multivariate model, P = 0.022). No difference in "proximal neck"-related complications was evidenced between the HOR and non-HOR groups (univariate analysis, P = 0.620). Median follow-up time was respectively 25 [14-28] and 36 months [23-44] in the HOR group and in the non-HOR group (P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: HOR offer more accurate proximal deployment of infrarenal endografts, with however no difference in "proximal neck"-related complications between groups.

Outcomes of Preventive Embolization of the Inferior Mesenteric Artery during Endovascular Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Repair.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the impact of preemptive inferior mesenteric artery (IMA) embolization on outcomes of endovascular abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) repair (EVAR). MATERIALS AND METHODS: From January 2015 to July 2017, all patients undergoing elective EVAR or fenestrated EVAR (F-EVAR) for asymptomatic AAA in a single tertiary hospital were retrospectively included. Three groups of patients were defined: patients with a patent IMA who underwent embolization during EVAR/F-EVAR (group 1), those with a patent IMA who did not undergo embolization during EVAR/F-EVAR (group 2), and those with a chronically occluded IMA (group 3). Preoperative aortic morphology, demographics, and procedural details were recorded. Aneurysmal growth (≥5 mm), reintervention, and overall mortality rates were analyzed using multivariate proportional hazard multivariate modeling. Propensity scores were constructed, and inverse probability weighting was applied to a new set of multivariate analyses to perform a sensitivity analysis. RESULTS: A total of 266 patients (male, 95% [n = 249]) with a median age of 70 (65-77) years were included, with F-EVAR procedures comprising 87 (32.7%) of the interventions. There were 52, 142, and 72 patients in groups 1, 2, and 3, respectively. Changes in aneurysmal sac size did not differ between groups, nor did overall survival or reintervention rates at 24 months. IMA embolization was not identified as an independently protective factor for aneurysmal growth during follow-up (relative risk [RR] = 2.82/mm [0.96-8.28], P = .060), whereas accessory renal arteries (RR = 5.07/mm [1.72-14.96], P = .003) and a larger preoperative aneurysmal diameter (RR = 1.09/mm [1.03-1.15], P = .004) were independent risk factors for sac enlargement. CONCLUSIONS: Preventive embolization of the IMA during EVAR or F-EVAR did not promote aneurysmal sac shrinking or decrease the reintervention rate at 2-year follow-up.

Comparison of aortic diameter and area after endovascular treatment of aortic dissection.

BACKGROUND: Different methods have been used to assess remodeling of the thoracic aorta after endovascular treatment of Stanford type B aortic dissections. Changes in morphology may be described using diameter, area, or volume. The aim of this study was to determine if aortic diameter measurements could be used to approximate aortic area in order to refine reporting standards. METHODS: The study population encompassed 100 patients enrolled in the VIRTUE registry (designed to assess thoracic endografting with the Valiant Stent Graft System [Medtronic, Minneapolis, MN] for the treatment of type B aortic dissections). Diameter and area measurements of the true lumen, false lumen, and whole aorta were made using three-dimensional computed tomographic (3D CT) workstations, at different anatomic locations. Measurements included preoperative, postoperative, and follow-up scans. The Pearson test was used to determine general correlation between diameter and volume at each location. Scatter plots were drawn and linear regression models were used to draw a line of best fit. Comparison of these with nonlinear models was performed. RESULTS: Aortic true and false lumen diameter and area showed good correlation (p < 0.001) in the majority of anatomic locations. This relationship was present preoperatively and during follow-up (p < 0.001). The linear regression models fit well with high R(2) values. At very large aortic sizes nonlinear models were a slightly better fit, but this was not significant. CONCLUSIONS: Aortic diameter measurements correlate with luminal areas in patients with type B aortic dissection. This implies area increases proportionately with diameter over time. Therefore, diameter measurements using multiplanar reconstructions based on a central luminal line appear to be adequate when assessing aortic remodeling after endovascular treatment of aortic dissection.

The Glasgow Aneurysm Score does not predict mortality after open abdominal aortic aneurysm in the era of endovascular aneurysm repair.

OBJECTIVE: Endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR) has reduced early adverse outcomes from abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) repair. Preferential use of EVAR may have altered the profile of patients who undergo open repair. The validity of scoring systems such as the Glasgow Aneurysm Score (GAS), devised when open surgery was the only treatment, required reappraisal. METHODS: Patients were identified from a database of patients undergoing elective infrarenal aneurysm repair at seven United Kingdom centers, and the GAS was calculated for each patient. Discrimination and calibration were calculated to determine the performance of the model in this setting using the C statistic, tertile analysis, and the χ(2) test. Univariate analysis was performed to determine if a new iteration of the GAS could be produced. RESULTS: We identified 330 patients who met the inclusion criteria. There were 18 deaths ≤30 days of surgery (5.4%). The average (standard deviation) GAS was 78.6 (8.8) for the survivors and 81.9 (10.4) for nonsurvivors (P = .122). The C statistic was 0.625 (95% confidence interval, 0.481-0.769; P = .75) suggesting a discriminatory ability not much better than chance alone. Despite this, calibration of the model was good. There was no significant difference in the comorbidities of either group, so no recalibration of the GAS could be performed. CONCLUSION: The GAS did not discriminate between survivors and nonsurvivors after open AAA repair in this cohort. In the era of EVAR, it is possible that the GAS does not predict the outcome of open AAA repair. An alternative explanation is that patients with risk factors for poor outcomes from EVAR, such as adverse AAA morphology, are being selected out for open repair.

Spontaneous tension haemopneumothorax.

We present a patient with sudden onset progressive shortness of breath and no history of trauma, who rapidly became haemodynamically compromised with a pneumothorax and pleural effusion seen on chest radiograph. He was treated for spontaneous tension pneumothorax but this was soon revealed to be a tension haemopneumothorax. He underwent urgent thoracotomy after persistent bleeding to explore an apical vascular abnormality seen on CT scanning. To our knowledge this is the first such case reported.Aetiology and current approach to spontaneous haemothorax are discussed briefly.