Vascular calcifications on the preoperative radiograph: harbinger of tourniquet failure in patients undergoing total knee arthroplasty?

Objective: Vascular calcifications on the preoperative radiograph of patients scheduled for total knee arthroplasty (TKA) often give rise to concern, as their clinical relevance remains uncertain. The aim of this study was to investigate whether these vascular calcifications-especially medial artery calcifications (MACs), which increase arterial stiffness-were associated with tourniquet failure and thus with increased intraoperative blood loss.

Materials And Methods: A total of 765 patients who underwent primary TKA with a tourniquet (cuff pressure 350 mmHg) between 2009 and 2011 were screened for vascular calcifications on the preoperative radiograph.

Vascular Calcifications on the Preoperative Radiograph: Predictor of Ischemic Complications in Total Knee Arthroplasty?

Background: Vascular calcifications seen on the preoperative radiograph of patients scheduled for total knee arthroplasty (TKA) are intuitively seen as a risk factor for ischemic complications though there is no empiric evidence to support this assumption. The aim of this study was the correlation of perioperative ischemic complications and vascular calcifications of patients undergoing TKA.

Methods: In this retrospective analysis, all 825 patients who had undergone primary TKA in the period 2009-2011 with intraoperative use of a tourniquet were included.

Early experience with the new endovascular aneurysm sealing system Nellix: First clinical results after 50 implantations.

Objective: In the present study, 50 EVAS procedures were evaluated in regard to primary (survival and technical success) and secondary (device-related complications) events of interest.

Methods: The single center study was conducted from July 2013 to August 2014 with prospective collection of the clinical data. The clinical results were controlled by CT angiography and contrast-enhanced ultrasound.

Clinical outcomes in hybrid repair procedures for pathologies involving the aortic arch.

Objective: Fifty patients with complex aortic disease, who received hybrid treatment of the aortic arch with supra-aortic debranching and endovascular stent-graft repair, were evaluated in regard to events of primary (survival and technical success) and secondary (procedure-related complications) interest.

Methods: The single-center study was conducted over an eight-year period from December 2004 to December 2012. Treated medical conditions included 23 aortic aneurysms (46%), 21 aortic dissections (42%), and six penetrating aortic ulcers (12%).

[Endovascular brachytherapy (EVBT) with Rhenium-188 for restenosis prophylaxis after angioplasty of infrainguinal lesions: early experience].

Purpose: Restenosis remains a major problem in percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA) of peripheral arteries. The aim of this feasibility study was to evaluate the technical feasibility and safety of a new endovascular brachytherapy (EVBT) device with Rhenium-188 in restenosis prophylaxis of infrainguinal arteries.

Materials And Methods: From March 2006 to April 2009, 52 patients with 71 infrainguinal arterial lesions were treated with Re-188 to prevent restenosis after PTA.