The INNOVATION Trial: four-year safety and effectiveness of the INCRAFT® AAA Stent-Graft System for endovascular repair.

Background: This paper reports the 4-year safety and effectiveness of the INCRAFT® AAA Stent-Graft System (Cordis Corp., Milpitas, CA, USA), an ultra-low-profile device for the treatment of abdominal aortic aneurysms.

Methods: The INNOVATION Trial is the prospective, first-in-human, multicenter trial to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of the INCRAFT® System.

Durability and efficacy of tibial arterial stent placement for critical limb ischemia.

Purpose: To analyze the efficacy and durability of long-term tibioperoneal arterial stent placement for selected cases of symptomatic chronic limb ischemia (CLI).

Materials And Methods: From January 2005 to June 2012, 168 limbs (155 patients) were treated with percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA)/stent placement for de novo tibial stenosis or occlusion in at least one tibial artery. Most patients (92.

Midterm results of endovascular treatment of superficial femoral artery disease with biodegradable stents: single-center experience.

Purpose: To assess the midterm efficacy of a biodegradable poly-l-lactic acid (PLLA) stent in the treatment of superficial femoral artery (SFA) occlusive disease.

Materials And Methods: Between June 2009 and April 2011, 35 de novo SFA lesions were treated with 43 biodegradable stents. This nonrandomized, retrospective, single-center study included patients with moderate or severe claudication, lower-limb rest pain, or ischemic ulceration restricted to the toes; symptoms were classified as Rutherford category 2 (48.

Endovascular repair of traumatic thoracic aortic injury: final results from the relay endovascular registry for thoracic disease.

Background: In blunt thoracic aortic injury, thoracic endovascular aortic repair (TEVAR) offers a less invasive alternative to open chest surgery. New reliable and accurate stent grafts have widened the endovascular treatment options. We report our experience with the Relay stent graft Bolton Medical, Sunrise, FL; Barcelona, Spain) for treatment of this injury.

Mechanical thrombectomy in proximal subclavian artery in-stent occlusion.

Purpose: Mechanical thrombectomy is an established tool for endovascular therapy of acute/chronic in-stent occlusions of the lower extremities, especially for the superficial femoral artery. The authors report the use of the Rotarex catheter system for an in-stent proximal subclavian occlusion.

Case Presentation: A 51-year-old female patient with previous multiple attempts at left subclavian revascularization; primary endovascular stenting at the origin of the subclavian artery occluded at 3 months, and a carotid-subclavian bypass was placed distally to the stent.

Urgent carotid artery stenting with technical modifications for patients with transient ischemic attacks and minor stroke.

Purpose: To evaluate the safety and efficacy of urgent carotid artery stenting (CAS) with technical modifications in patients with recent (<24 hours) initial or recurrent (≥2 episodes in 24 hours) transient ischemic attacks (TIA) or with minor stroke.

Methods: A single-center, prospective, observational study was begun in March 2005 to assess an urgent CAS protocol for the treatment of selected high-risk patients with carotid artery disease who presented within 24 hours of an initial or recurrent TIA or minor stroke. Up to June 2011, 78 patients (59 men; mean age 76 years) with TIA (n=57) or minor stroke (n=21) underwent urgent CAS (within 48 hours) for severe internal carotid artery stenosis.

Endovascular treatment of patients with types A and B thoracic aortic dissection using Relay thoracic stent-grafts: results from the RESTORE Patient Registry.

Purpose: To evaluate the safety and performance of Relay stent-grafts in patients with acute or chronic aortic dissections.

Methods: Patients with types A or B aortic dissections suitable for treatment with Relay stent-grafts and followed for 2 years after thoracic endovascular aortic repair (TEVAR) were identified from a company-sponsored registry database established in January 2006. Ninety-one consecutive patients (69 men; mean age 65 years) underwent TEVAR with Relay stent-grafts for dissection.

Final operative and midterm results of the European experience in the RELAY Endovascular Registry for Thoracic Disease (RESTORE) study.

Purpose: Thoracic endovascular aortic repair is increasingly becoming the standard treatment of many thoracic aortic pathologies. New reliable and accurate stent grafts are emerging to widen the endovascular treatment options. We report the results of RELAY (Bolton Medical, Barcelona, Spain) in the large RELAY Endovascular Registry for Thoracic Disease (RESTORE) European registry.

Inflammatory abdominal aortic aneurysm endovascular repair into the long-term follow-up.

Background: To investigate long-term outcomes for inflammatory abdominal aortic aneurysms (IAAA) after endovascular treatment (EVAR).

Methods: Between May 1997 and January 2009, 9 male patients (Mean 67 years, range 54-75 years) with IAAA were treated with EVAR using commercially available endografts. Results were assessed using contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CT) at 3 months, 12 months, and biannually thereafter.

Endovascular preservation of full pelvic circulation with external iliac-to-internal iliac artery "cross-stenting" in patients with aorto-iliac aneurysms.

Common iliac artery (CIA) aneurysms that extend into the iliac bifurcation and internal iliac artery (IIA) usually require exclusion of the IIA, exposing pelvic ischemic complication risks. This case report presents an endovascular technique of "cross-stenting" in a short proximal landing zone with complete exclusion of the CIA aneurysm using a covered stent graft with a longer uncovered stent extending into one branch of the IIAs, maintaining full pelvic circulation. External iliac artery to IIA cross-stenting with an additional uncovered stent warrants further investigation, because it seems to extend graft stent placement indications, increase stability, and help avoid IIA exclusion.

Carotid artery stent fracture identification and clinical relevance.

Background: This study was conducted to identify the prevalence, risk factors, and clinical relevance of carotid artery stent fracture.

Methods: Commercially available carotid stents were implanted in this prospective, observational study that began in January 2004. Indications included asymptomatic patients (stenosis >80%), symptomatic patients (stenosis >60%), and ulcerated lesions (>50%).

Thoracic endograft for abdominal aortic aneurysms, an unusual application for severe neck angulation: case report and literature review.

Our goal was to achieve complete proximal sealing in severe aortic neck angulation (SNA) during endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR) of a patient with an abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) unfit for surgery. An 82-year-old patient with an infrarenal AAA of 9.8 cm with an SNA of 90 degrees was admitted for acute coronary syndrome.

Collected world and single center experience with endovascular treatment of ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysms.

Background: Case and single center reports have documented the feasibility and suggested the effectiveness of endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR) of ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysms (RAAAs), but the role and value of such treatment remain controversial.

Objective: To clarify these we examined a collected experience with use of EVAR for RAAA treatment from 49 centers.

Methods: Data were obtained by questionnaires from these centers, updated from 13 centers committed to EVAR treatment whenever possible and included treatment details from a single center and information on 1037 patients treated by EVAR and 763 patients treated by open repair (OR).

Treatment of ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm after endovascular abdominal aortic repair: A comparison with patients without prior treatment.

Objective: A retrospective analysis of immediate outcomes following aneurysm rupture (rAAA) in two groups: patients previously treated at our center with primary endovascular repair (EVAR) and patients without previous EVAR for abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA) in an 8-year period.

Methods: Fourteen patients with a confirmed rAAA identified throughout the follow-up period following primary EVAR repair at our center (from a population of 820 AAA treated at our center in election) were retrospectively compared with 155 patients without previous EVAR in the same time period, from the introduction of an intention-to-treat protocol with EVAR for rAAA in January 1999. Primary study outcomes included 30-day mortality and severe systemic complications following rAAA correction with both open and EVAR treatments.

Endovascular treatment of abdominal aortic aneurysms with the Powerlink Endograft System: influence of placement on the bifurcation and use of a proximal extension on early and late outcomes.

Objective: We evaluated the influence of placement of the bifurcated Powerlink endograft (Endologix Inc, Irvine, Calif) on the aortic bifurcation, with the addition of a proximal extension, in the endovascular treatment (EVAR) of selected patients with atherosclerotic abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAAs).

Methods: From September 1999 to June 2007, 205 patients were treated with the bifurcated Powerlink endograft for atherosclerotic AAA at two Italian centers with shared protocols. Patients were retrospectively divided in two groups according to treatment with the bifurcated graft only (n = 126), or its placement on the bifurcation with the addition of a proximal extension (n = 79) at the initial procedure.

Single-center experience with the Talent LPS endograft in patients with at least 5 years of follow-up.

Purpose: To evaluate long-term results in patients undergoing elective endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR) using the Talent LPS endograft to treat abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA).

Methods: Fifty patients (49 men; median age 72 years, range 54-89) were treated electively between 1997 and 2001 with the Talent LPS endograft chosen for various anatomical reasons, including short (< or =15 mm) aortic neck (32.5%), iliac ectasia (> or =18 mm) in at least 1 iliac artery (32%), angulated (30 degrees -60 degrees ) aortic neck (16%), large (> or =28 mm) aortic neck (6%), and tapered, reversed tapered, or bulging aortic neck (14%).

A single-center experience in open and endovascular treatment of hemodynamically unstable and stable patients with ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysms.

Objective: To retrospectively compare a single center's immediate and mid-term outcomes of ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm open and endovascular repair (EVAR) for two patient groups-hemodynamically stable and unstable patients-in the same time period.

Methods: Patients presenting at our center with confirmed rupture of an abdominal aortic aneurysm between December 1999 and April 2006 were considered according to an intention-to-treat model with EVAR. Patients with symptomatic or acute (but not ruptured) AAAs were not included in this study.

Comparing outcomes of carotid endarterectomy with international benchmarks: audit from an Italian vascular surgery department.

Background: The aim of this study was to compare the outcomes of carotid endarterectomy (CEA) in the current practice of our department of vascular surgery with international benchmarks.

Methods: In-patient data from 488 CEA performed in both symptomatic 145 (29.7%) and asymptomatic 343 (70.

Proximal endovascular flow blockage for cerebral protection during carotid artery stenting: results from a prospective multicenter registry.

Purpose: To evaluate the feasibility of cerebral protection during carotid artery stenting (CAS) using the Mo.Ma device, which prevents cerebral embolization by proximal endovascular blockage of blood flow in the internal and external carotid arteries.

Methods: In 14 European centers, 157 patients (121 men; mean age 68.