Anatomic Eligibility for Commercial Branched Endograft Repair of Thoracoabdominal Aortic Aneurysms.

Background: First-generation "off-the-shelf" branched endovascular stent grafts are in development for treatment of thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysms (TAAAs). Prior studies have assessed eligibility rates among highly selected cohorts of patients referred for endovascular treatment, and the broader applicability of these devices to all patients with TAAA is unknown. The aims of this study were to assess the overall suitability of the 3 commercial 4-branched devices with or without adjunct procedure(s) in an unselected cohort of patients with TAAA and to identify areas for improvement in the next generation of devices.

Survival and patient-centered outcome in a disease-based observational cohort study of patients with thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysm.

Background: Much of the literature describing treatment for thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysm (TAAA) consists of operative series reported by centers of excellence. These studies are limited by referral and selection bias and exclude patients who are not candidates for the reported modality of repair. Little is known about the patients who are not referred or selected for repair.

Pilot study of safety and feasibility of DNA microseeding for treatment of spontaneous canine melanoma.

Spontaneous canine malignant melanoma provides an excellent pre-clinical model to study DNA vaccines for melanoma immunotherapy. A USDA-approved xenogeneic human tyrosinase (huTYR) plasmid DNA vaccine delivered intramuscularly induces detectable immune responses and has clinical activity in some dogs with melanoma. The objective of this pilot study was to evaluate the feasibility, safety and immunogenicity of huTYR plasmid DNA administered to the skin via microseeding in dogs with spontaneous melanoma.

0 + 5 Vascular Surgery Residents' Operative Experience in General Surgery: An Analysis of Operative Logs from 12 Integrated Programs.

Objective: Integrated (0 + 5) vascular surgery (VS) residency programs must include 24 months of training in core general surgery. The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education currently does not require specific case numbers in general surgery for 0 + 5 trainees; however, program directors have structured this time to optimize operative experience. The aim of this study is to determine the case volume and type of cases that VS residents are exposed to during their core surgery training.