The Italian trial of endovascular AAA exclusion using the Parodi endograft.

Purpose: To report the outcome of the prospective 11-center Italian Parodi Trial using straight and tapered endografts for the endovascular exclusion of abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA).

Methods: From April 1994 to July 1995, 27 patients were evaluated and selected for endovascular AAA exclusion. The Parodi devices were delivered through femoral arteriotomies using 18 to 22F introducers and deployed by balloon expansion of the terminal stents.

[Unidentified arteriopathy: an epidemiological study. The preliminary results].

The importance of the social and medical impact of arteriosclerotic disease fully justifies a series of studies focused on improving knowledge of this pathology before symptoms become manifest, so as to orientate treatment increasingly towards prevention. The aim of this study-of which the authors now report the preliminary results-was to establish the incidence of unidentified lower limb arteriopathy in the general population and to evaluate the relations between this and the possible presence of risk factors. The authors therefore decided to evaluate patients attending outpatient General Surgery clinic for symptoms manifestly not related to lower limb vascular pathology (arterial or venous).

[Carotid endarterectomy with placement of a PUR (polyurethane) patch].

In this study, 40 patients who underwent surgery for cerebro-vascular insufficiency were considered. Carotid endarterectomy was the procedure of choice in all of the patients; the arteriotomy was always closed using a PUR patch, a new material that, for its chemical and physical characteristics seems to be a good alternative to PTFE. All of the patients underwent surgery under loco-regional anesthesia, allowing a perioperative monitoring of the neurological status through the patient's active collaboration.

Indobufen vs acetylsalicylic acid plus dipyridamole in long-term patency after femoropopliteal bypass.

To compare the effects of indobufen (INB) with those of ASA+dipyridamole (DP) on graft patency, 113 patients undergoing femoropopliteal bypass surgery were randomly and blindly assigned to treatment with INB 400 mg daily or with ASA 900 mg daily plus DP 225 mg daily. Treatment started 2 days before surgery and lasted for 12 months. All patients underwent two angiographic examinations: the first early after surgery (mean 6 days) and the second at the end of the study (mean 368 days).

[Risk surgery of the carotid. A balanced assessment of the use of locoregional anesthesia].

The authors report their experience with regional anaesthesia in carotid surgery. They performed 80 carotid endarterectomies in 79 patients. Thirty-three patients were at high surgical risk because of contralateral internal carotid artery occlusion or bilateral stenosis (greater than 70%) or ischemic brain areas for past stroke.

[Cancer of the gastric stump: our experience].

The experienced gained over the past few years in the Verona University Institute of Surgical Pathology has revealed a slow, though progressive, increase in the number of gastric stump cancers, reflecting a trend emerging in the literature. There can be no doubt that an important factor in the enhanced detection of such cancers is the adoption of digestive endoscopy in routine clinical practice. Silent symptoms, barely noticeable clinical signs and the particular aggressiveness of the tumours often lead to an excessively late diagnosis, which, unfortunately, limits the efficacy of surgical therapy.

[Funnel chest and pigeon chest today].

The authors report on the results of sternochondroplasty according to Ravitch in a group of 31 patients with funnellike or carinated chest. The results appear to be conditioned to the type of anomaly, to the kind of surgery performed, to the age at which the patients undergo surgery. From a functional viewpoint results appear to be markedly better in pectus carinatum as compared to those in pectus excavatum.

Recurrence of autonomous hyperparathyroidism in calcium nephrolithiasis.

In a woman with bilateral recurrent calcium nephrolithiasis and hypercalciuria, hypercalcemia developed and she underwent parathyroid surgery, which led to excision of a histologically-confirmed adenoma. The patient became normocalcemic but remained hypercalciuric despite reduction of dietary calcium intake. Several calculi recurred in both kidneys.

Postoperative chylothorax. Six cases in 2,500 operations, with a survey of the world literature.

We have systematically reviewed the literature concerning iatrogenic chylothorax and shall report our personal observations on the subject. Despite an increasing number of thoracic operations, injuries to the thoracic duct are infrequent. Cardiovascular and esophageal procedures are the most frequent causes of chylothorax.