Acute upper limb ischemia, a rare presentation of giant cell arteritis.

Giant cell arteritis (GCA) is a systemic large vessel vasculitis, with extracranial arterial involvement described in 10-15% of cases, usually affecting the aorta and its branches. Patients with GCA are more likely to develop aortic aneurysms, but these are rarely present at the time of the diagnosis. We report the case of an 80-year-old Caucasian woman, who reported proximal muscle pain in the arms with morning stiffness of the shoulders for eight months.

[Endovascular aortic procedures].

The authors report a retrospective analysis of all the aortic endovascular procedures performed in the Department until November 2009. The series includes a total of 302 patients, 246 of them having an elective treatment of an abdominal aortic aneurysm; 33 underwent an emergency treatment of an abdominal aortic aneurysm; and the remainder 23 patients had an endovascular procedure of the thoracic aorta. The aim of the study was dedicated at the evaluation of the epidemiologic characteristics of the patients, including associated and co-morbid entities, as well as the evaluation of the results, especially the early 30 days post-operative mortality and major morbidity.

Celiac artery aneurysms.

Celiac artery aneurysms are extremely rare vascular lesions that are frequently asymptomatic. When present, clinical manifestations are often vague and unspecific. The most serious complication of celiac artery aneurysms is rupture with a mortality rate up to 100%.

[Carotid body tumors. A 10-years experience in the management of the disease].

Introduction: Carotid body tumours (CBT) are neoplasms that develop from paragangionic cells of this structure. They are rare, with an estimated incidence of 1:30000 and can be associated with other neuro-endocrine neoplasia. The authors report their experience in the management of the disease, in the last 10 years.

[Leg ulcer clinic at Santa Marta Hospital].

Leg ulcers constitute a highly prevalent pathology in society, and are particularly common in the Angiology and Vascular Surgery outpatient clinic. The prevalence of these patients in this Department result from the fact that 70% of them display superficial and/or deep venous insufficiency of the lower limbs. To address this problem and optimize the therapeutic approaches available to the Chronic Leg Ulcer (CLU) patients, the Department of Angiology and Vascular Surgery has created, in March 2005, an appointment specific to CLU patients.

[Visceral artery aneurysms: alternative therapeutic approach].

The authors report two cases in which stent grafts were used to treat visceral artery aneurysms. Case number 1 was a 42-year old woman with a history of renal colic who was found to have a right renal artery aneurysm. Two 6-mm x 20-mm Wallgraft endoprosthesis (Boston Scientific, Watertown, Mass) were placed across the aneurysm neck.

[The implementation of a Vascular Pain Unit].

The concern towards the adequate pain treatment of vascular surgical patients in the Department of Angiology and Vascular Surgery at Hospital de Santa Marta took to the development of an organized structure, intended to optimize perioperative analgesia. In this paper we intend to describe the implementation process of the Vascular Pain Unit, which started in 2003 and was concluded in January 2005.