COVID-19 infection complicated with acute pulmonary embolism treated with percutaneous pulmonary artery thrombectomy: a case report.

Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) disease is a highly prothrombotic state. Deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism (PE) are observed with increased incidence in patients infected with the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 virus. Case summary: A 57-year-old male patient with a recent COVID-19 infection complained of leg swelling shortly after his COVID ward discharge. A few days later he was hospitalized with acute massive PE and DVT of his left leg was diagnosed. In another facility, as the first line of treatment, the PE was managed with catheter-directed therapy (CDT) using thrombus defragmentation via 5F (French) Pigtail catheter and supraselective application of 40 mg alteplase. Following the procedure, in addition, 50 mg alteplase was also applied as a 1 hour systemic infusion. Despite the haemodynamic stabilization of the patient, he remained persistently symptomatic and tachycardic. Three days later-in our institution, a second computed tomography pulmoangiography revealed massive thrombotic masses mainly in the left pulmonary artery. Successful percutaneous thrombus aspiration was conducted. The procedure was uneventful with an immediate drop of systolic pulmonary artery pressure from 68 to 47 mmHg and relief of the patient's symptoms. Discussion: In the era of the COVID-19 pandemic, physicians have to remain vigilant of its potential thrombotic complications, the most commonly observed being DVT and PE. We demonstrated the efficacy of percutaneous thrombus aspiration in a patient with acute COVID-19-associated PE, after initial CDT with thrombus defragmentation and high-dose tissue plasminogen activator was implemented with a suboptimal result.

Fenestration of the intima to facilitate successful endovascular repair of a dissecting abdominal aneurysm.

Aortic aneurysm is an enlargement of the aorta with a loss of the arterial wall parallelism. There are several possible causes concerning etiology, one of which is the postsurgical presence of a patent distal false lumen. An aortic aneurysm is mainly seen after a surgery for type A aortic dissection and it represents an important late complication. Even more, in some cases the abdominal aortic aneurysm could be complicated by a patent distal false lumen, which makes it challenging for further treatment. We present a case of a 44-year-old male patient with Marfan syndrome and the history of a surgical repair of type A aortic dissection. He was diagnosed with a large abdominal aortic aneurysm and patent distal false lumen. In this report, we describe our technique and the outcome for endovascular fenestration of the persistent intimal flap and the stent-graft implantation for abdominal aortic aneurysm isolation after the surgery for aortic dissection type A. Our technique presents a novelty approach to patients with abdominal aortic aneurysm, complicated with a patent distal false lumen.

Use of coronary stent grafts for the treatment of high-flow carotid cavernous fistula.

Carotid cavernous fistulas are abnormal communications between the carotid artery or its branches and the cavernous sinus. It can be traumatic or spontaneous. The widely accepted treatment is by detachable balloons. Advancements in the field of endovascular medicine made available other options for the treatment of this condition. Covered stents are widely available and offer preservation of the parent artery while occluding the fistula.

Endovascular closure of MINOCA-caused ventricular septal defect (VSD).

Myocardial infarction with non-obstructive coronary arteries (MINOCA) is a rare form of acute myocardial infarction and it is an even rarer cause of ventricular septal defect (VSD). We present a case of successful endovascular closure of post-MINOCA VSD with the use of an atrial septal defect (ASD) occluder. The patient improved from intra-aortic balloon pump dependent to New York Heart Association (NYHA) I in a matter of days. 18-month follow-up period is event free and symptom free.

Use of ASD closure device for the sealing of false lumen entry in the ascending aorta after dissection Type A surgical repair.

We present a case of a persistent false lumen after ascending aorta replacement due to Stanford Type A dissection treated by endovascular means. The main entry tear was occluded with an atrial septal defect closure device, sealing the false lumen. A total of five additional stents were implanted to centralise and secure the flow in the true lumen. CT scan at 6-month follow-up showed excellent results with a decreased total aortic diameter and thrombosed false lumen.

Valve Cracking Before Valve-In-Valve Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation to Treat Severe Paravalvular Leak.

A patient with severe bioprosthesic patient-prosthesis mismatch, severe paravalvular leak, and symptoms of heart failure New York Heart Association functional class III was successfully treated using valve cracking followed by valve-in-valve transcatheter aortic valve implantation with excellent results at 1-year follow-up. (Level of Difficulty: Advanced.).

Safety and Efficacy of Transbrachial Access for Endovascular Procedures: A Single-Center Retrospective Analysis.

BACKGROUND: Endovascular procedures nowadays are generally performed via the femoral and radial artery. Although not routinely used by many, there is still an essential role for vascular interventions via brachial access. The technological advancement of endovascular devices leads to a significant increase of the variety of percutaneously treatable vascular pathology. The brachial artery approach nowadays is becoming crucial for complex procedures either as single access or in the context of mandatory double vascular approach for many complex interventions. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the safety and efficacy of brachial artery access for diagnostic arteriography and endovascular interventions in different vascular territories in a single-center setting on the basis of a retrospective analysis of prospectively collected data in a large patient cohort. METHODS: Between 01/2013 and 09/2016, 11,274 endovascular procedures were performed in our hospital, 847 (7.5%) of them via brachial access, presenting the database for this study. All demographic, clinical, and periprocedural data were obtained prospectively and included in the computerized hospital records, and on this basis, a retrospective analysis was performed. RESULTS: While the radial access was the most used and constant for coronary and noncoronary interventions in our center (71%) in this period, the use of brachial access increased (from 4% to 12%) causing the femoral to decrease (from 27% to 16%). We used the brachial approach for diagnostic purposes in 162 patients (19%) and for head to toe endovascular interventions (including angioplasty, stenting, thrombolysis, or as adjunctive access) in 685 patients (81%). For 53 patients (6.2%), this was the only possible access for endovascular intervention. Overall access site-related complications occurred in 25 patients (2.9%), in 19 of them (2.2%) required surgical correction, for brachial artery thrombosis or pseudoaneurysm. The other six were managed conservatively. No permanent neurological deficits of the arm or severe bleeding were observed. Minor complications, mostly hematomas, occurred in 62 patients (7.3%), but they required no further treatment. CONCLUSION: Brachial artery access expands our capability to perform complex procedures by allowing us to reach arterial targets in all territories. Complications of brachial vascular access are gradually decreasing together with the decrease of the crossing profile of the devices used in practice. However, when they occur, they often require surgical treatment. The growing experience of the team not only while obtaining the access but also while achieving adequate hemostasis ("patent hemostasis") is of great importance for minimizing the complications.

Uneventful Follow-Up 2 Years after Endovascular Treatment of a High-Flow Iatrogenic Aortocaval Fistula Causing Pulmonary Hypertension and Right Heart Failure.

Iatrogenic aortocaval fistula is an extremely rare pathologic condition that often results in clinically significant left-to-right extracardiac shunt. In slow-progressing cases, chronic right-sided heart failure can occur and, in some patients, may persist for years. We present a patient with a long-standing aortocaval fistula that was causing high-flow left-to-right shunting, tricuspid regurgitation, severe pulmonary hypertension, and right-side heart failure. After undergoing complete endoscopic isolation of the aortocaval fistula, the patient experienced dramatic clinical improvement and continued to have excellent imaging and clinical resolution after 2 years of follow-up.

Comparison of standard renal denervation procedure versus novel distal and branch vessel procedure with brachial arterial access.

OBJECTIVES: We assessed a novel approach to percutaneous renal denervation for uncontrolled hypertension consisting of ablation beyond the proximal main renal artery (Y-pattern), including the primary branches, and compared it to the standard procedure applied only within the main vessel. We also assessed the safety and practicality of a brachial access approach. METHODS AND RESULTS: Renal denervation was performed on 119 consecutive patients (60 ±â€¯13 years). In 68 of the patients, femoral arterial vascular approach was used and in 51 brachial. In 80 patients treated with the standard ablation, 12.0 ±â€¯3.0 total ablations (both sides) were applied while 20.4 ±â€¯3.9 total ablations were delivered for the group of 39 patients with Y-pattern denervation (P < 0.001). Technically successful renal denervation was achieved in all patients. Office blood-pressure levels at baseline were 170 ±â€¯17/93 ±â€¯10 mm Hg for the standard group and 169 ±â€¯13/96 ±â€¯9 mm Hg for the Y-pattern group. No major adverse events occurred during the procedure or in the postprocedural in-hospital period. Renal denervation was associated with significant decreases in both office and ambulatory systolic and diastolic blood pressure in both groups. The reduction in 24-hour mean ambulatory systolic blood pressure at 6 months was significantly greater (P = 0.002) for the Y-Pattern group (-22.1 ±â€¯15.4 mm Hg) compared to the Standard group (-11.8 ±â€¯16.2 mm Hg). Changes in diastolic office and ambulatory pressure were also significantly greater at 6 months in the Y-pattern ablation group. Indices of blood pressure variability improved in both groups. CONCLUSION: Renal denervation using a Y-pattern ablation strategy combined with a greater number of lesions is safe and resulted in significant greater decreases in mean 24-hour ambulatory systolic and diastolic blood pressure compared to the conventional approach in this single-centre matched cohort study. Brachial artery access was shown to be feasible and safe for renal denervation.