Factors associated with recurrence of varicose veins after thermal ablation: results of the recurrent veins after thermal ablation study.

Background: The goal of this retrospective cohort study (REVATA) was to determine the site, source, and contributory factors of varicose vein recurrence after radiofrequency (RF) and laser ablation.

Methods: Seven centers enrolled patients into the study over a 1-year period. All patients underwent previous thermal ablation of the great saphenous vein (GSV), small saphenous vein (SSV), or anterior accessory great saphenous vein (AAGSV).

Surgical management of esophageal perforation: role of esophageal conservation in delayed perforation.

Definitive repair of esophageal perforation is considered the preferred treatment for patients presenting early (<24 hours). However, the optimal management of delayed presentation (>24 hours) has not been well defined. This study examined the management of esophageal perforation and compared the outcomes of early versus delayed presentation.

Apico-aortic conduits in children with severe left ventricular outflow tract obstruction.

Background: Infrequently, congenital heart defects are complicated by left ventricular outflow tract obstruction (LVOTO) not amenable to conventional reconstruction. Apico-aortic conduits provide a means of palliating such patients until definitive repair is possible. The purpose of this study was to review a single institution's current experience with apico-aortic conduits.

The use of methylene blue as an extravascular surgical marker impairs vascular responses of human saphenous veins.

Methylene blue is occasionally applied to the adventitia of blood vessels during coronary artery bypass and other vascular procedures to assist in the orientation of the vessel. Inherent in this method is the assumption that extravascular application of methylene blue is innocuous with regard to vascular function. In the first part of this study, the in vitro vascular reactivity of methylene blue-labeled saphenous veins was compared with that of veins that were not marked with methylene blue.