Impact of cilostazol on prevention of late failure of autologous vein grafts.

Objectives: The effectiveness of postoperative medication for the prevention of late graft failure is controversial. We conducted the present study to investigate whether cilostazol improved the mid-term outcomes after infrainguinal autologous vein bypass for chronic limb-threatening ischemia (CLTI).

Methods: From April 1994 to March 2022, we performed 590 de novo infrainguinal bypass procedures using autologous vein grafts (AVGs) in three hospitals.

Experience of Balloon Aortic Valvuloplasty for Severe Aortic Stenosis in Patients Scheduled for Open Surgery for Chronic Limb-Threatening Ischemia.

To estimate the effectiveness of balloon aortic valvuloplasty (BAV) for severe aortic stenosis (SAS) in patients scheduled for open surgery for chronic limb-threatening ischemia. Clinical data of patients from 2012 to 2018 were retrieved and summarized. The early outcomes and survival after BAV and open bypass were retrospectively investigated.

Assessment of 3-Year Patency after Endoluminal versus Surgical Bypass Therapy for Complex Femoropopliteal Artery Disease.

Purpose: To compare the 3-year clinical outcomes of endoluminal bypass with those of surgical bypass for complex femoropopliteal (FP) arterial lesions.

Materials And Methods: In this retrospective multicenter study, 530 patients with symptomatic peripheral artery disease (Rutherford classification 1-3, 66.0%; 4-6, 34.

Cystic Adventitial Disease of the Popliteal Artery With Recurrent Intermittent Claudication After Drug-Coating Balloon Angioplasty: A Case Report Treated by Surgical Treatment.

Cystic adventitial disease of the popliteal artery is a rare cause of unilateral intermittent claudication. The etiology of cystic adventitial disease is unknown, and affected patients are younger than those diagnosed with chronic arteriosclerosis. A 62-year-old man presented with a history of right leg claudication, which occurred after walking a distance of 500 m.

Preoperative nutritional status is independently associated with wound healing in patients undergoing open surgery for ischemic tissue loss.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between preoperative nutritional status and wound healing in patients undergoing surgical reconstruction for ischemic tissue loss.

Methods: The preoperative nutritional status of patients who underwent surgical reconstruction for ischemic tissue loss for the years 2011-2018 was retrospectively estimated using the Controlling Nutritional Status (CONUT) score. Patients were allocated to two groups: Group I, normal nutrition or mild malnutrition (CONUT score ≤4), and Group II, moderate-to-severe malnutrition (CONUT score ≥5).

Salvage of Infected Prosthetic Grafts at the Groin or Thigh Using Muscle Flap Coverage.

This study aimed to evaluate early- and long-term outcomes in patients who undergo muscle flap coverage (MFC) for prosthetic graft infections (PGIs) at the groin or thigh. We retrospectively retrieved and analyzed data on infected wound cures, recurrence, graft and limb salvage, and survival of patients who underwent MFC for PGI at the groin or thigh between 2000 and 2018. There were eight patients in our cohort: six had groin PGIs and two had thigh PGIs.

Duration from Wound Occurrence to Referral to a Vascular Center in Japanese Patients with Critical Limb Ischemia.

Clinical guidelines have long recommended referring patients with clerical limb ischemia (CLI) to a vascular specialist early in the course of their disease to plan for revascularization options. However, no data were so far available on how promptly CLI patients were referred to a vascular center in the real-world settings in Japan. This study aimed to survey the duration from wound occurrence to referral to a vascular center in CLI patients in Japan.

Efficacy of Balloon Angioplasty for Infrainguinal Vein Graft Stenosis.

Background: Vein graft stenosis is a critical complication of lower-limb bypass surgery. For vein graft stenosis, balloon angioplasty has been performed instead of surgical revision in recent years. We therefore investigated the effectiveness of the balloon angioplasty for vein graft stenosis.

Inframalleolar Bypass to the Distal Portion of the Lateral Tarsal Artery for Limb Salvage.

A 72-year-old man was admitted to our hospital due to rest pain and gangrene on his left second foot digit. Angiography revealed continuous patency from the superficial femoral artery stent to the below-knee popliteal artery with a diffuse, occlusive lesion in the crural arteries. The distal portion of the lateral tarsal artery was patent.

Impact of Frailty on Clinical Outcomes in Patients With Critical Limb Ischemia.

Background: The predictive ability of patient frailty on clinical outcomes after revascularization in patients with critical limb ischemia remains largely unknown.

Methods And Results: We enrolled 643 patients with critical limb ischemia treated with endovascular therapy (N=486) or bypass surgery (N=157) in January 2010 to January 2016, and prospectively assessed them using a 9-level clinical frailty scale (CFS). Patients were divided into 3 groups according to CFS levels: low (CFS level, 1-3; N=234), intermediate (CFS level, 4-6; N=196), and high (CFS level, 7-9; N=213) groups.

In Situ Popliteal-Tibial Bypass With the Short Saphenous Vein Through a Posterior Approach for Limb Salvage.

A 69-year-old female patient was admitted to our hospital with gangrene of her left first and second digits. Angiography showed a diffuse occlusive lesion from the external iliac artery to the crural arteries. Endovascular therapy to the external iliac artery, above-knee femoropopliteal bypass with a polytetrafluoroethylene graft, and popliteal-tibial bypass through a posterior approach with the short saphenous vein graft were performed in 3 stages because the length of the great saphenous vein that was suitable for grafting was insufficient.

Persistent Sciatic Artery Aneurysm with Limb Ischemia: A Report of Two Cases.

We report two cases of persistent sciatic artery (PSA) aneurysm with limb ischemia. Physicians who treat peripheral artery disease should be aware that PSA is a very rare congenital malformation of the lower extremities that is potentially hazardous, and that revascularization should be performed when a PSA aneurysm is treated.

Analysis of wound healing time and wound-free period as outcomes after surgical and endovascular revascularization for critical lower limb ischemia.

Background: Traditional end points, such as amputation-free survival, used to assess the clinical effectiveness of lower limb revascularization have shortcomings because they do not account independently for wound nonhealing and recurrence or patient survival. Wound healing process and maintenance of a wound-free state after revascularization were not well-studied. The aim of this study was to elucidate the long-term clinical course of ischemic wounds after revascularization.

Comparison of Clinical Outcomes after Surgical and Endovascular Revascularization in Hemodialysis Patients with Critical Limb Ischemia.

Aim: The treatment strategy for hemodialysis (HD) patients with critical limb ischemia (CLI) has been clinically debatable. Here we compared clinical outcomes after bypass surgery (BSX) and after endovascular therapy (EVT) using propensity score matching.

Methods: A retrospective multicenter database of 246 (68 BSX and 178 EVT) consecutive HD patients with CLI (79% with tissue loss) who underwent infrainguinal revascularization from 2007 to 2009 was used to compare clinical outcomes, including overall survival (OS), major amputation (MA), major adverse limb event (MALE: repeat EVT, surgical reconstruction, or MA), and MALE-free survival after BSX vs.

Raison d'etre of Tibial Artery Bypass for Intermittent Claudication in the Era of Endovascular Therapy.

Background: There is currently no positive opinion regarding infrapopliteal revascularization for intermittent claudication (IC) in any guidelines. The aim of this study was to analyze the outcomes of infragenicular bypass and verify the adequacy of tibial artery bypass for IC.

Methods and results: Over a 21-year period, 58 below-knee popliteal artery (BKPOP) bypasses and 35 tibial artery bypasses were performed for IC caused by arteriosclerosis obliterans.

Clinical Outcome of Surgical Endarterectomy for Common Femoral Artery Occlusive Disease.

Background: Although common femoral artery endarterectomy (CFE) is the standard treatment for occlusive disease of the common femoral artery (CFA), several studies have noted encouraging results for endovascular therapy in this anatomical area.

Methods and results:  A retrospective multi-center study of 118 consecutive limbs from 111 symptomatic patients undergoing CFE between April 1998 and December 2014 was performed. Seventy-five CFE were performed on limbs for intermittent claudication and 43 CFE were performed for critical limb ischemia (CLI).

Bypass Surgery vs. Drug-Eluting Stent for Trans-Atlantic Inter-Society Consensus-II (TASCII) C or D Femoropopliteal Lesions.

Background: Bypass surgery (BSX) as first-line therapy for Trans-Atlantic Inter-Society Consensus-II (TASCII) C/D femoropopliteal (FP) lesions is recommended. Recent reports have shown that a drug-eluting stent (DES) provides good durability up to the mid-term. We investigated clinical outcomes after BSX vs.

Predictors of 2-Year Mortality and Risk Stratification After Surgical or Endovascular Revascularization of Infrainguinal Artery Disease in Hemodialysis Patients With Critical Limb Ischemia.

Purpose: To examine the 2-year mortality in hemodialysis (HD) patients with critical limb ischemia (CLI) and determine predictors that may aid in the selection of a revascularization strategy [bypass surgery or endovascular therapy (EVT)] according to current guidelines.

Methods: From 2007 to 2009, 246 consecutive CLI patients (mean age 69±10 years; 170 men) on HD underwent revascularization for de novo infrainguinal lesions (178 EVT and 68 bypass grafting). The majority of the patients had diabetes (170, 69%) and tissue loss (194, 79%); nearly half (111, 45%) were nonambulatory.

Giant vein graft aneurysm complicated by Loeys-Dietz syndrome.

Loeys-Dietz syndrome (LDS) is a recently reported autosomal dominant aortic aneurysm syndrome with widespread systemic involvement. Although connective tissue diseases carry a theoretical risk of aneurysmal degeneration in vein grafts, there are no reports of vein graft aneurysm (VGA) in patients with connective tissue disease. We herein report the first case of a giant VGA that was manifested 5 years after the reconstruction of a popliteal artery aneurysm associated with LDS.

Abdominal aortic aneurysm complicated by intestinal malrotation.

Intestinal malrotation (IM) is an anomaly of fetal intestinal rotation that usually presents in the first month of life; it is rare for malrotaion to present in adulthood. Furthermore, the presentation of IM in conjunction with Abdominal aortic aneurysm is extremely rare and may require consideration with respect to the surgical approach and exposure of the abdominal aorta. We herein report a case of an abdominal aortic aneurysm complicated by intestinal malrotation.

Ultrasound-guided percutaneous thrombin injection for post-catheterization pseudoaneurysm.

Background: The efficacy and safety of ultrasound-guided thrombin injection (UGTI) for the treatment of post-catheterization femoral and brachial artery pseudoaneurysms (PSA) is unclear in Japan.

Methods And Results: A retrospective study of 32 consecutive patients undergoing percutaneous UGTI of post-catheterization PSA between February 2011 and February 2014 was performed. There were 23 femoral PSA and 9 brachial PSA treated with UGTI.

Infrapopliteal bifurcated dual run-off bypass in critical limb ischemia: a report of 2 cases.

Recently, angiosome-oriented direct revascularization was advocated for infrapopliteal bypass in patients with critical limb ischemia. However, angiosome-matched target vessels, which supply direct blood flow into the ischemic tissue, are frequently small in diameter, severely calcified, have a very poor vascular bed, and might not be suitable technically for distal anastomosis. In such cases, creating a bifurcation in the graft could enable perfusion of a "direct" target vessel with poor quality and an "indirect" run-off vessel with better features.

Prearterial external iliac vein as a rare anomaly of the iliac vein.

The coexistence of a retroperitoneal venous anomaly requires special consideration during open aortoiliac surgery. Anomalies of the external iliac vein are rare, and no anomalies of the right external iliac vein, which passes ventral to the external iliac artery, have been reported in the English literature to the best of our knowledge. We herein report the first case of Leriche syndrome combined with a prearterial external iliac vein treated with bypass surgery and a synthetic bifurcated graft.

Midterm outcomes of endovascular repair for abdominal aortic aneurysms with the on-label use compared with the off-label use of an endoprosthesis.

Purpose: Endovascular repair of an abdominal aortic aneurysm (EVAR) is sometimes not performed in accordance with the instructions for use (IFU) of the endoprosthesis ("off-label use"). We investigated whether the off-label use of the endograft affected the outcomes of EVAR.

Methods: Demographic, anatomical, intraoperative and follow-up data on 100 patients in whom the endograft was used on-label in EVAR were compared retrospectively with the corresponding data of 50 patients with off-label endograft use.