Evidence-Based Complementary Benefit of the Vascular Surgeon Among the Team of Renal Transplantation; a Single Center Experience.

Background: In a kidney transplant tertiary referral center; we compared 3 operating team configurations of different surgical specialties to highlight the effect of the operating surgeon's specialty on various operative details and procedural outcome.

Methods: A total of 50 cases of living donor transplantations were divided into 3 main groups according to the operating surgeons' specialty, the first group (A) includes 12 patients exclusively operated on by urologists with advanced training in transplantation, the second group (B) includes 35 patients operated by combined surgical specialties; a urologist and a vascular surgeon both with advanced transplantation training, and a third group (C) includes 3 cases where the transplant operation commenced with operating urologists as in group (A) but required intraoperative urgent notification of a vascular surgeon to manage unexpected intraoperative technical difficulties or major complications. Cases were studied according to operative details, anastomosis techniques, ischemia times, total procedure time, recovery of urinary output, intensive care unit (ICU) stay, postoperative surgical complications and serum creatinine level for up to 3 years of follow-up.

One-year results of stent graft repair for carotid artery pseudo-aneurysm in patients with Behcet's disease.

Objectives: Behcet's disease is a multisystem disorder of unknown etiology with vascular complications. This study reviewed the mid-term outcome of Behcet's disease patients with carotid artery pseudo-aneurysms treated by endovascular stent-graft repair at our unit.

Methods: During a period of 11 years, six cases were included.

Reappraisal of velocity criteria for carotid bulb/internal carotid artery stenosis utilizing high-resolution B-mode ultrasound validated with computed tomography angiography.

Objective: Reliability of the most commonly used duplex ultrasound (DUS) velocity thresholds for internal carotid artery (ICA) stenosis has been questioned since these thresholds were developed using less precise methods to grade stenosis severity based on angiography. In this study, maximum percent diameter carotid bulb ICA stenosis (European Carotid Surgery Trial [ECST] method) was objectively measured using high resolution B-mode DUS validated with computed tomography angiography (CTA) and used to determine optimum velocity thresholds for > or =50% and > or =80% bulb internal carotid artery stenosis (ICA).

Methods: B-mode DUS and CTA images of 74 bulb ICA stenoses were compared to validate accuracy of the DUS measurements.

WITHDRAWN: Reappraisal of internal carotid artery stenosis velocity thresholds utilizing high-resolution B-mode ultrasound validated with computed tomography angiography (CTA).

This article has been withdrawn consistent with Elsevier Policy on Article Withdrawal (http://www.elsevier.com/locate/withdrawalpolicy).

B-mode ultrasonographic characterization of carotid atherosclerotic plaques in symptomatic and asymptomatic patients.

Objective: To identify features on B-mode ultrasonography (US) prevalent in symptomatic plaques and correlate these findings with histopathologic markers of plaque instability.

Methods: Carotid endarterectomy (CEA) plaques from symptomatic and asymptomatic patients with critical stenoses (>70%) were qualitatively assessed using preoperative B-mode US for echolucency and calcific acoustic shadowing. US echolucency was quantitated ex vivo using computerized techniques for gray-scale median (GSM) analysis.

Degree of carotid plaque calcification in relation to symptomatic outcome and plaque inflammation.

Objective: We undertook this study to quantitate differences in the degree of calcification between symptomatic and asymptomatic plaques removed at carotid endarterectomy (CEA) and to determine associated extent of plaque macrophage infiltration, a histopathologic feature of plaque instability.

Methods: CEA plaques (n = 48) were imaged at 1.25-mm intervals with spiral computed tomography (CT; 10-15 images per plaque).

Reliability of common femoral artery hemodynamics in assessing the severity of aortoiliac inflow disease.

Objectives: We investigated the utility of color duplex ultrasound (CDU)-derived common femoral artery (CFA) hemodynamics for detecting significant aortoiliac occlusive disease and predicting its severity.

Methods: From January 1997 to June 2001, 132 consecutive patients with lower extremity arterial insufficiency underwent both femoropopliteal CDU scanning and aortography with runoff studies. CDU-derived CFA waveform contour (monophasic, biphasic, or triphasic), peak systolic velocity (PSV), and acceleration time were recorded for each patient.

Transitional flow at the venous anastomosis of an arteriovenous graft: potential activation of the ERK1/2 mechanotransduction pathway.

We present experimental and computational results that describe the level, distribution, and importance of velocity fluctuations within the venous anastomosis of an arteriovenous graft. The motivation of this work is to understand better the importance of biomechanical forces in the development of intimal hyperplasia within these grafts. Steady-flow in vitro studies (Re = 1060 and 1820) were conducted within a graft model that represents the venous anastomosis to measure velocity by means of laser Doppler anemometry.