Faculty Bibliography

INTRODUCTION/BACKGROUND:Femoral-popliteal bypass (FPB) surgery is a common lower extremity revascularization procedure. As the population continues to age, this procedure is being performed increasingly on older patients. This study investigated whether outcomes differ in this population. MATERIALS AND METHODS/METHODS:Patients over and less than 80 years old who underwent FPB between 2009-2013 were queried using an existing hospital registry. Demographics, comorbidities, intraoperative complications, perioperative outcomes, and two-year patencies were compared. RESULTS:Twenty-four patients in the octogenarian cohort (OC) and 72 patients in the non-octogenarian cohort (NOC) were identified. There was a lower prevalence of smoking (p=0.018) and higher prevalence of hypertension (p=0.021) among octogenarians. Other medical characteristics were similar (p<0.05). There were no differences in use of vein versus PTFE (p=0.002) as a conduit, or above (OC 20.0% vs. NOC 36.7%), versus below knee (OC 80.0% vs. NOC 63.3%) distal anastomosis (p>0.05) between the groups. There was a difference (p<0.01) in indication for procedure (OC/NOC): claudication (0%/44%), limb salvage (71%/31%), and rest pain (29%/25%). There were no differences in 30-day readmissions (17% vs. 21%; p=0.59) or incidence of postoperative (25% vs. 19%; p=0.56) or intraoperative complications (8.3% vs. 4.2%; p=0.52). Length of stay (LOS) was longer and statistically significant in octogenarians (12 days vs. 7 days; p=0.032) and remained significant after multivariate linear regression (p=0.015). Patencies in OC were lower and dropped faster after six months; however, there were no statistically significant differences in patencies at any time interval (p>0.05). The position of the distal anastomosis relative to the knee, conduit type, and indication were not independently predictive of patency outcomes (p>0.05). CONCLUSION/CONCLUSIONS:The safety and efficacy of FPB in octogenarians is similar to the general population despite LOS in octogenarians being 5.98 days longer. While the difference in indication suggests that vascular surgeons are more conservative in treating octogenarians, our analysis did not reveal significant differences between populations and suggests that lower extremity bypass can be performed safely with comparable results in this cohort. A larger cohort is needed to validate these results.

BACKGROUND:Leg compression after venous closures for 24-48 hours or longer is commonplace and controversial. OBJECTIVE:The goal of our study was to evaluate compression immediately post-venous closures and its associated costs. METHODS:Records were retrospectively reviewed after consecutive therapies of sclerotherapy, mechanochemical ablation (MOCA) & radiofrequency ablation (RFA) from 1 clinic with 2 cohorts: 7/2/13-10/15/15 were immediately ACE-wrapped for 3-5 days (AW, N = 52) and 10/20/15-1/5/16 were non ACE-wrapped (NAW, N = 49). All procedures were performed in an outpatient office setting of one surgeon (P.L.). Follow-up was within 1 week and 3 months with ultrasounds. Financial data of ACE wraps and ABD pads were assessed. RESULTS:Closures consisted of consecutive therapies of sclerotherapy (4 patients); MOCA (44 patients) and RFA (53 patients). No statistical difference existed in age (p = 0.61), sex (p = 0.2063); race (0.3689), CAD (p = 0.1442), ESRD (p = 0.2914), diabetes mellitus (p = 0.8943), hypertension (p = 0.681), COPD (p = 0.38), or smoking (p = 0.3628). NAW group had higher rate of hyperlipidemia (p = 0.0225), obesity (p = 0.0283), MOCA and sclerotherapy (p = 0.0005). No difference existed in pain (p = 0.8897); wound complications were too small to perform analysis; and swelling was greater in AW group compared to NAW group (p = 0.0132, OR 3.3951, CI 1.269; 9.0834). Closure rates were 98% and 100% in AW and NAW groups, respectively. NAW were only a total cost savings of $1.58 per leg per procedure. CONCLUSION/CONCLUSIONS:AW for compression after vein closures confers no benefit in postoperative period with no effect on closure rates; may be associated with increased swelling, discomfort, and wound complications while increasing unnecessary and negligible monetary costs. Larger sample size is needed to validate these conclusions.

BACKGROUND:This study retrospectively reviewed results of simultaneous (SIM) inferior vena cava (IVC) filter and separate (SEP) IVC filter placement with open pulmonary thromboembolectomy (PTE) in pulmonary embolism and its clinical outcomes. MATERIALS AND METHODS:From November 2006 to May 2014, 23 patients (14 females and 9 males; median age 58 years; range, 21-88 years) underwent emergent PTE for submassive (12) or massive (11) pulmonary embolism (PE). All had a preoperative computed tomography (CT) scan and echocardiography consistent with right ventricular (RV) strain. Mean cardiopulmonary bypass times and temperatures; chest tube outputs; length of stay; perioperative complications; and survival were compared between groups. RESULTS:There were 13 patients in the SIM group and 10 in the SEP group. PE consisted of 14 acute (60.9%) and nine acute on chronic (39.1%). There were seven deaths (30.4%). Median follow up was 44 days (range, 2-2204 days). Follow up was 81% complete in surviving patients. Actuarial survival at one and three years was 83% for the SIM group and 43% for the SEP group, respectively. There were no differences in cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) times and temperatures, chest tube outputs, or length of stay between groups. Using multivariable logistic regression, we found SIM was associated with increased survival (p=0.09). Further analysis showed patients >55 years in the SEP group were at significantly higher risk of death (hazard ratio [HR]=7.1:1; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.55, 32.5, p=0.011). CONCLUSION:IVC filter placement can be performed simultaneously and safely at PTE. Age >55 years and PTE with IVC filter placed separately were at significantly higher risk of death. A larger cohort is needed to evaluate efficacy of simultaneous IVC filter placement and PTE.

Popliteal artery aneurysms (PAAs) are the most common type of peripheral artery aneurysms. Mycotic aneurysms involving the popliteal artery are quite rare and can occur as either a primary de novo infection or a secondary infection from another site. To our knowledge, there are no previous case reports on mycotic PAA in which Staphylococcus epidermidis was the primary etiologic pathogen. We present the case of a 55-year-old male who presented with complaints of lower extremity pain and swelling, malaise, and low-grade temperatures for two weeks and was found to have a PAA. He underwent left femoral-popliteal bypass grafting with expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (ePTFE) graft and ligation of the aneurysm. On postoperative day 10, he experienced acute swelling and pain in his lower extremity with foot drop and was found to have rapid enlargement of his aneurysm sac on imaging. He was returned to the operating room emergently where he underwent aneurysmectomy via a posterior fossa approach. Cultures and gram staining of the aneurysm sac were consistent with Staphylococcus epidermidis. As noted above, this case of mycotic PAA was treated with standard vascular surgical techniques, yet it proceeded to enlarge acutely. PAAs that rapidly expand or rupture after surgical interventions may be a sign of infection.

BACKGROUND:Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a novel coronavirus that has typically resulted in upper respiratory symptoms. However, we have encountered acute arterial and venous thrombotic events after COVID-19 infection. Managing acute thrombotic events from the novel virus has presented unprecedented challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic. In our study, we have highlighted the unique treatment required for these patients and discussed the role of anticoagulation for patients diagnosed with COVID-19. METHODS:and Fisher exact tests for categorical variables and the Student t test for continuous variables. RESULTS:A total of 21 patients with acute thrombotic events met our inclusion and exclusion criteria. Most cases were acute arterial events (76.2%), with the remainder venous cases (23.8%). The average age for all patients was 64.6 years, and 52.4% were male. The most prevalent comorbidity in the group was hypertension (81.0%). Several markers were markedly abnormal in both arterial and venous cases, including an elevated neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio (8.8) and D-dimer level (4.9 μg/mL). Operative intervention included percutaneous angiography in 25.00% of patients and open surgical embolectomy in 23.8%. Most of the patients who had undergone arterial intervention had developed a postoperative complication (53.9%) compared with a 0% complication rate after venous interventions. Acute kidney injury on admission was a factor in 75.0% of those who died vs 18.2% in the survivors (P = .04). CONCLUSIONS:We have described our experience in the epicenter of the pandemic of 21 patients who had experienced major thrombotic events from infection with COVID-19. The findings from our cohort have highlighted the need for increased awareness of the vascular manifestations of COVID-19 and the important role of anticoagulation for these patients. More data are urgently needed to optimize treatment and prevent further vascular complications of COVID-19 infections.

BACKGROUND:Our objective is to explore the Peripheral Intravascular Lithotripsy (IVL) System in the treatment of calcific access vessels during thoracic endovascular aortic repair (TEVAR), endovascular aortic repair (EVAR), and transcatheter aortic valve intervention. METHODS:This retrospective, single-center study evaluated the outcomes of patients undergoing TEVAR, EVAR, or transcatheter aortic valve intervention with severe calcific arterial disease between July 2018 and August 2019. Maximum circumferential calcification, length of calcification, and inner/outer diameter measurements were collected with curved planar reformation by medical imaging software (Aquarius APS, TeraRecon, Foster City, Calif). Effective luminal gain was calculated using the minimal inner diameter and the largest bore passed within the vessel lumen. End points included technical success, mortality, adverse events, and requirement for bail out maneuvers. Technical success was defined as successful delivery and deployment of device or endograft. RESULTS:Nine patients were included (mean age, 79.3 ± 9.79 years; range, 59-97 years]). four transcatheter aortic valve replacement, one TEVAR, one EVAR, and three fenestrated EVAR. Six patients (66.7%) had more than one artery treated; the segments treated included common iliac artery (seven patients [77.8%]), the external iliac artery (seven patients [77.8%]), and the common femoral artery (one patient [11.1%]). The average inner iliac vessel diameter was 3.38 ± 0.99 mm (range, 1.87-4.72 mm). The average outside diameter of device introduced was 7.2 ± 0.94 (range, 6.3-8.8 mm) with 229% effective luminal gain. Technical success was achieved in 100% of cases with a 0% mortality. Adjunctive measures were needed in five cases (55.6%). One vessel perforation was controlled with covered stent (Viabahn; W. L. Gore & Associates, Flagstaff, Ariz) deployment. Dissection was identified in two cases requiring stent placement. Two cases required the use of the Terumo International Systems SOLOPATH Balloon Expandable TransFemoral System (Terumo Interventional Systems, Somerset, NJ). One case deployed a Viabahn stent applying the "crack and pave" technique. CONCLUSIONS:As the population of the United States ages, calcified arterial disease will become an everyday clinical conundrum. Furthermore, the procedures for which the IVL system is geared toward facilitating will likely also increase in use. The IVL system is an additional tool in the vascular surgeon's armamentarium to obtain large-bore access in these calcified vessels. Further studies are needed to better assess the clinical effectiveness of the IVL system.

Acute aortic occlusion is an infrequent clinical event with high morbidity and mortality. Management is determined by the cause of the occlusion, with thromboembolectomy used for embolic events and bypass for thrombotic events. After bypass, recanalization of a total aortic occlusion has been sparsely reported. We present a case of a total occlusion of an infrarenal abdominal aorta that was managed surgically with a left axillary-bifemoral bypass. Imaging performed 6 months postoperatively revealed a spontaneously recanalized aorta and occluded bypass graft.