Gastrointestinal complications after mitral valve surgery.

Introduction: Gastrointestinal (GI) complications are well-recognized risks of open heart surgery. However, open heart surgery comes in different shapes and sizes with widely varying pre-operative, intra-operative and post-operative pathologies. The aim of this study was to examine the etiology and risk factors for GI complications after mitral valve surgery.

Innominate artery cannulation: an alternative to femoral or axillary cannulation for arterial inflow in proximal aortic surgery.

Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of innominate artery cannulation in proximal aortic procedures, including those involving hypothermic circulatory arrest.

Methods: A total of 68 patients underwent innominate artery cannulation with a side graft during proximal aortic surgery performed by way of a median sternotomy. The indications for surgery were proximal arch aneurysm in 43 patients (63.

Ectopic liver: an unexpected finding in a right atrial mass.

Ectopic liver is a rare finding, particularly in intrathoracic locations. We report the case of a 42-year-old woman with a mobile right atrial mass that was subsequently identified as ectopic liver by histology. Its point of origin was in a hepatic vein with extension into the right atrium.

Cardiac varix presenting as a right atrial mass.

A cardiac varix is an unusual tumor of vascular origin that is rarely discovered antemortem. Here, we report the incidental finding of this lesion in the right atrium of a patient with concomitant prostate cancer.

Abdominal aortic aneurysm in women: prevalence, risk factors, and implications for screening.

Objective: Accurate data regarding the prevalence and associated risk factors for aneurysmal disease is essential when determining the appropriateness of screening for abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA). Although women are poorly represented in most large studies of AAA prevalence, the US Preventative Services Task Force recently recommended against primary screening for AAA in women. The purpose of this analysis was to define the prevalence and risk factors associated with the development of AAA in women.

The creation of an infrarenal aneurysm within the native abdominal aorta of swine.

Background: Models of native abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA) have been created in rodents using elastase and calcium chloride perfusion. These models, however, do not permit the evaluation of endovascular devices. This study describes the use of mechanical and enzymatic techniques to create native AAA in swine.

Safety and efficacy of carotid angioplasty and stenting in high-risk patients.

Performance of carotid endarterectomy (CEA) may be associated with an increased risk in patients with significant comorbid medical conditions, neck irradiation, or previous CEA. This study compared the results of CEA with carotid angioplasty and stenting (CAS) in high-risk patients treated for carotid stenosis. Five hundred forty-five patients who underwent CEA and 148 patients who underwent CAS were evaluated.

Analysis of outcomes following failed endovascular treatment of chronic limb ischemia.

Despite recent studies highlighting the advantages of endoluminal intervention in the management of chronic limb ischemia (CLI), outcomes following failed peripheral angioplasty remain less well described. We present a retrospective analysis of failed transluminal infrainguinal percutaneous arterial angioplasty with or without stenting (PTA/S) in patients with CLI. A database of patients undergoing infrainguinal PTA/S between 2002 and 2005 was maintained.

Analysis of parameters associated with hypotension requiring vasopressor support after carotid angioplasty and stenting.

Introduction: Systemic hypotension has been observed for up to 36 hours in response to stimulation of the carotid baroreceptor by carotid angioplasty and stenting (CAS). The aim of this study was to identify risk factors and cardiac outcomes for postprocedural hypotension requiring vasopressor support after CAS.

Methods: Between 2003 and 2005, 143 patients (87 men; mean age, 75 years) with high-grade carotid artery stenosis (mean, 87.

The development of endotension is associated with increased transmission of pressure and serous components in porous expanded polytetrafluoroethylene stent-grafts: characterization using a canine model.

Objective: This study used a canine model of abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAAs) to compare intra-aneurysmal pressure and thrombus formation after exclusion with Dacron and expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (ePTFE) stent-grafts.

Methods: Prosthetic AAAs with implanted strain-gauge pressure transducers were treated by stent-graft exclusion using Food and Drug Administration-approved devices in 10 mongrel dogs: five Dacron (AneuRx) and five ePTFE (original Excluder). Intra-aneurysmal pressure was measured over 4 weeks after AAA exclusion and indexed to the systemic pressure, represented as a percentage of a simultaneously obtained systemic pressure (value = 1.

Embolization of renal artery aneurysm and arteriovenous fistula-a case report.

A renal artery aneurysm with an associated arteriovenous fistula in a native kidney has been reported infrequently in the literature. Management depends on size, location, and the patient's physiological condition. We describe a case in which endovascular therapy was used to successfully exclude both aneurysm and fistula.

Analysis of anatomic factors and age in patients undergoing carotid angioplasty and stenting.

Recent data suggest that patient age >80 years may be associated with increased risk of periprocedural complications from carotid angioplasty and stenting (CAS). In this study, we analyzed anatomic risk factors in patients undergoing CAS based on age >80 or <80 years. Our hypothesis was that patients >80 would have more challenging anatomy.

Treatment of type II endoleaks with a novel polyurethane thrombogenic foam: induction of endoleak thrombosis and elimination of intra-aneurysmal pressure in the canine model.

Objective: The clinical significance and treatment of retrograde collateral arterial perfusion of abdominal aortic aneurysms after endovascular repair (type II endoleak) have not been completely characterized. A canine abdominal aortic aneurysm model of type II endoleak with an implanted pressure transducer was used to evaluate the use of polyurethane foam to induce thrombosis of type II endoleaks. The effect on endoleak patency, intra-aneurysmal pressure, and thrombus histology was studied.

Comparison of results in endovascular interventions for infrainguinal lesions: claudication versus critical limb ischemia.

This study analyzed clinical success, patency, and limb salvage after endovascular repair in patients treated for chronic limb ischemia presenting with claudication versus critical limb ischemia. Between October 2001 and August 2004, 115 patients (mean age 71) underwent endovascular treatment for infrainguinal arterial disease. Techniques included subintimal angioplasty and transluminal angioplasty with or without stents.

Carotid angioplasty and stent-induced bradycardia and hypotension: Impact of prophylactic atropine administration and prior carotid endarterectomy.

Objective: We compared the physiologic effect of selective atropine administration for bradycardia with routine prophylactic administration, before balloon inflation, during carotid angioplasty and stenting (CAS). We also compared the incidence of procedural bradycardia and hypotension for CAS in patients with primary stenosis vs those with prior ipsilateral carotid endarterectomy (CEA).

Methods: A total of 86 patients were treated with CAS at 3 institutions.

Do bone marrow micrometastases correlate with sentinel lymph node metastases in breast cancer patients?

Background: Sentinel lymph node biopsies (SLNB) are used to detect axillary metastases as an important prognostic indicator for breast cancer patients. Bone marrow micrometastases (BMM) have also been shown to predict prognosis. This study examines whether SLNB and BMM are associated.

Percutaneous endovascular treatment for chronic limb ischemia.

Percutaneous transluminal methods of revascularization for chronic limb ischemia have traditionally been used as an adjunctive or secondary mode of treatment. This study examines the outcomes of patients treated via endovascular methods as the primary form of treatment. The records of 66 patients (average age, 71.