Complete endograft collapse 91/2 years following endograft repair of an abdominal aortic aneurysm.

Endografts are a common method of treating abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA) because of the short-term benefits of endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR). However, the short-term benefits of endovascular repair must be balanced against long-term complications, such as the need for conversion to open repair, device migration, persistent or de novo endoleaks, and most concerning the potential for subsequent rupture of the aneurysm. Lifelong postimplantation surveillance is mandatory because the incidence of some complications increases over time.

Case study: chronic femoropopliteal prosthetic graft infection with exposed graft.

One of the most feared complications following vascular reconstruction is infection due to the attendant risks of limb loss, sepsis, or death. The reported incidence of infection following infrainguinal prosthetic graft infection is 2.5% with associated mortality rates and amputation rates of 18% and 41%, respectively.

Combined thenar and hypothenar hammer syndromes: case report and review of the literature.

Patients who use the palms of their hands as a hammer may cause irreversible damage to the radial or ulnar arteries. Damage to the intima may lead to arterial thrombosis, whereas damage to the media may cause aneurysm formation with embolization to the digital arteries, causing symptoms of ischemia. These patients may have symptoms of Raynaud syndrome, or they may have ischemic ulcerations of their fingers.

Subclavian venous aneurysm: case report and review of the literature.

A case of a symptomatic 5.1-cm left subclavian venous aneurysm, which was treated with surgical excision, is presented. Most venous aneurysms in the head and neck region involve the internal or external jugular veins and are asymptomatic.

Arterial infections in the new millenium: an old problem revisited.

The natural history of infected aneurysms or arterial infections is characterized by rapid expansion leading to rupture, pseudoaneurysm formation, and sepsis. Treatment options include in situ grafting either with prosthetic or autogenous grafts or with cryopreserved allografts (CPAs), resection of the aneurysm with remote bypass grafting, and ligation. The purpose of this study was to review our recent experience with these infections and to present long-term follow-up with in situ CPAs.

Pseudoaneurysm formation in a subset of patients with small intestinal submucosa biologic patches after carotid endarterectomy.

Background: The carotid artery is frequently patched after carotid endarterectomy (CEA) to minimize the risks of early postoperative thrombosis and late recurrent stenosis. The small intestinal submucosa (SIS) patch is a biologic vascular patch derived from porcine small intestine. It is composed primarily of cell-free collagen and other extracellular matrix constituents that act as a scaffold for host cell deposition.

Endoluminal repair of carotid artery pseudoaneurysms: a word of caution.

This report describes our results with covered endoluminal stents in the management of 4 patients with carotid artery pseudoaneurysms (PSAs) following carotid endarterectomy (CEA). Two patients had symptomatic embolization of thrombus from the PSA's into branches of the middle cerebral arteries (MCA) during deployment of the stents. Endoluminal stents were deployed uneventfully in the other two.

Surgical resection of a large recurrent pelvic arteriovenous malformation using deep hypothermic circulatory arrest.

Transcatheter embolization has emerged as the treatment of choice for pelvic arteriovenous malformations (AVMs), because surgical resection may be difficult and is associated with a high recurrence rate. We report a patient with a large recurrent pelvic AVM in whom transcatheter embolization was not feasible. This patient underwent surgical resection of the AVM, which was accomplished with deep hypothermic circulatory arrest.