A single institutional experience with suction thrombectomy in acute mesenteric ischemia.

Acute mesenteric ischemia (AMI) is typically treated by open surgery or hybrid techniques. Catheter-based aspiration thrombectomy represents another minimally invasive alternative with a potential additional safety benefit of minimizing the bleeding risk associated with thrombolytics. In this institutional case series, we present five clinical cases of aspiration thrombectomy for high-risk AMI using the Penumbra aspiration system.

A randomized comparison of a 3-week and 6-week vascular surgery simulation course on junior surgical residents' performance of an end-to-side anastomosis.

Objective: We assessed the effect of an open vascular simulation course on the surgical skill of junior surgical residents in performing a vascular end-to-side anastomosis and determined the course length required for effectiveness. We hypothesized that a 6-week course would significantly increase the surgical skill of junior residents in performing an end-to-side anastomosis, while a 3-week course would not.

Methods: We randomized 37 junior residents (postgraduate year 1 to 3) to a course consisting of three (short course, n = 18) or six (long course, n = 19) consecutive weekly 1-hour teaching sessions.