Ex vivo lung perfusion prior to transplantation: an overview of current clinical practice worldwide.

Lung transplantation is a lifesaving treatment in numerous forms of end-stage lung disease but organ shortage remains nowadays his biggest issue. Ex vivo lung perfusion (EVLP) has recently emerged as a solution to this problem and begins to be accepted is clinical practice. In this review, we will focus on his experience worldwide. We would like to describe the technique and the criteria used to select the donors and the transplantable lungs. We will also browse the acceptance rate described in literature as well as numerous other aspects of this new tool.

Balloon Angioplasty Versus Bailout Stenting for Isolated Chronic Total Occlusions in the Popliteal Artery.

AIMS:: Stenting of the popliteal artery (PA) is generally considered inappropriate due to the high mechanical stress and bending of the artery during knee flexion. Nevertheless, vessel recoil remains problematic following angioplasty procedure for chronic total occlusions (CTOs) and adjunctive stenting may be required. The purpose of this study is to compare balloon angioplasty alone versus bailout stenting for isolated CTO of the PA. MATERIALS AND METHODS:: Between March 2012 and October 2016, 43 patients were treated with percutaneous transluminal angioplasty with balloon alone (PTA, n = 16) or bailout stenting percutaneous transluminal angioplasty and stenting (PTAS, n = 27) for de novo CTO of PA. There was no statistically significant difference between both groups with regard to patient demographics and lesions characteristics (calcification severity and lesion length). The median lesion lengths were 67 mm (39.5-78.5) in the PTA group and 94 mm (50-114) in the PTAS group ( p = 0.14). The primary outcome measure was primary patency; secondary outcomes were technical success, primary assisted patency, major amputation, and increased Rutherford classification. RESULTS:: Technical success rate was 37% and 96.3% in the PTA and PTAS groups, respectively. There was no statistical difference in 12-month primary patency rate (65.8% versus 58.7%; p = 0.15) and primary assisted patency at 12 months (75.2 versus 69.2; p = 0.47) between the 2 groups. Freedom from target lesion revascularization at 12 months was not significantly different, with 85.7% and 81.6% ( p = 0.2) in the PTA and PTAS groups, respectively. One amputation occurred in the PTA group. CONCLUSION:: This small cohort suggests that stenting as a bailout procedure in CTO of the PA provides similar results to successful balloon angioplasty. Stenting should only be performed after suboptimal balloon angioplasty with vessel recoil. Due to the large lost to follow-up, strong evidence of a therapy over the other cannot be formulated. Larger studies with longer and stronger follow-up are needed to confirm those results.

Management and Outcome of Prosthetic Vascular Graft Infections: A Single Center Experience.

BACKGROUND: Prosthetic vascular graft infection (PVGI) remains a severe and challenging complication in vascular surgery with high morbidity and mortality rates. Incidence has been reported between 1% and 6%. The aim of this study was to report our experience in terms of general and surgical management as well as outcome, over 15 years. METHODS: A retrospective consecutive study was conducted of all patients treated in our department for PVGI between January 2000 and December 2015. We analyzed all data relative to primary operation, duration interval between initial surgery and infections signs, infection site, type of microorganism involved, and surgical treatment modality, as well as evaluation of short- and long-term results. RESULTS: Sixty-two patients were admitted for PVGI. Primary revascularization procedures consisted of a peripheral bypass in 42 (68%) patients and an aortic bypass in the remaining 20 (32%) patients. Median interval between primary procedure and reintervention was 3 months (interquartile range 17 [IQR 17]) in the peripheral group and 48 months (IQR 70.5) in the aortic group. Complete excision of the prosthetic graft was carried out in 85% of the cases. Thirty-day mortality was 0% and 9.5% in the aortic and peripheral group, respectively. The overall survival rate was 62.3% at 2-years, 46.4% in the aortic group, and 69.7% in the peripheral group. CONCLUSIONS: Prosthetic vascular graft infection needs a multidisciplinary management with appropriate antibiotherapy, radical removal of the infected graft, and in situ reconstruction. This strategy gives satisfactory results in terms of mortality, morbidity, patency rates, and infection control.

Short-Term Results of Eluvia™ Paclitaxel-Eluting Stent in External Iliac and Femoropopliteal Lesions.

INTRODUCTION: The aim of this study was to independently evaluate the real-world performances of Eluvia™ paclitaxel drug-eluting stents (DES) (Boston Scientific, Marlborough, Massachusetts) for the treatment of external iliac and femoropopliteal artery lesions. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We prospectively collected, and retrospectively reviewed, data for all patients who underwent an endovascular treatment with an Eluvia™ DES for the treatment of an external iliac or femoropopliteal lesion. Patient demographics, concomitant procedures, arterial lesions characteristics, procedural details, and follow-up were reviewed. RESULTS: Between April and October 2016, 15 Eluvia™ DES were placed in 15 consecutive adult patients with a technical success of 100%. The treated lesions had a mean length of 93.9 ±58 mm. Sixty percent of the lesions were total occlusions and 13% were restenosis of previous stents. An additional inflow treatment was performed in 40% of the cases. At six months, two patients were lost at follow-up and one had an occluded stent. We had a primary patency rate and freedom from TLR of 92%. All remaining patients had an improved Rutherford class, improved quality of life and wound healing, and an increase in walking distance. Survival and limb salvage rates were 100%. CONCLUSIONS: This study confirms the good result of DES, in general, and of the Eluvia™ stent, in particular, in the treatment of external iliac and femoropopliteal arterial lesions, with a primary patency rate and a freedom from TLR of 92% at six months. A larger number of patients and longer follow-up will be required to determine the true real-world efficacy of the Eluvia™ DES, but short-term experience is encouraging.