First Experience With The GoBack-Catheter For Successful Crossing of Complex Chronic Total Occlusions in Lower Limb Arteries.

Purpose: To evaluate the use of the GoBack-catheter (Upstream Peripheral Technologies) in complex revascularizations in lower limb arteries.

Materials And Methods: In this retrospective single-center study, the results of the first 100 consecutive patients including 101 limb-revascularizations, performed between May 2018 and July 2020 with the study device, were analyzed. In all cases, guidewire-crossing failed, and all lesions were chronic total occlusions (CTO), either de novo, reocclusions, or in-stent reocclusions.

The Influence of 3D Printed Aortic Models on the Evolution of Physician Modified Stent Grafts for the Urgent Treatment of Thoraco-abdominal and Pararenal Aortic Pathologies.

Objective: The aim was to describe the outcomes of high risk patients with symptomatic or contained rupture of pararenal (PRAs) and thoraco-abdominal aortic aneurysms (TAAAs) with anatomy unsuitable for commercially available stent grafts who underwent fenestrated endovascular aneurysm repair (FEVAR) using physician modified stent grafts (PMSGs) planned with 3D image analysis software (3DIMAS), and 3D printed aortic models (3DAMs).

Methods: Nineteen consecutive patients (17 male; mean age, 70 ± 9 years) underwent PMSG-FEVAR between 2015 and 2019. 3DAMs to plan the PMSGs were introduced in 2018.

Retrograde Tibioperoneal Access for Complex Infrainguinal Occlusions: Short- and Long-Term Outcomes of 554 Endovascular Interventions.

Objectives: This study sought to report short- and long-term efficacy and safety outcomes of retrograde tibioperoneal access for endovascular treatment of chronic total occlusions (CTOs).

Background: Antegrade recanalization of peripheral CTO is associated with a high failure rate and retrograde puncture of tibioperoneal arteries has been adopted to overcome this limitation.

Methods: Within a retrospective single center cohort study, data of 554 infrainguinal occlusions were acquired in which a retrograde puncture of at least 1 infrapopliteal artery became necessary.

Drug-Eluting Stent Versus Drug-Coated Balloon Revascularization in Patients With Femoropopliteal Arterial Disease.

Background: Randomized trials of drug-eluting stents (DES) and drug-coated balloons (DCB) for femoropopliteal interventions reported superior patency rates for both strategies compared to standard balloon angioplasty. To date, head-to-head comparisons are missing.

Objectives: The authors sought to compare DES versus DCB for femoropopliteal lesions through 36 months.

Drug-Coated Balloon Angioplasty in Atherosclerosis Patients With Popliteal Artery Involvement.

Purpose: To investigate outcomes of drug-coated balloon (DCB) angioplasty in endovascular interventions including or restricted to the popliteal artery.

Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted of 266 patients [median age 72 years, interquartile range (IQR) 62, 78; 166 men] treated with DCB angioplasty in 281 de novo lesions including the popliteal artery between December 2011 and January 2015 at a single center. The median lesion length was 270 mm (IQR 150, 373).

Endovascular Treatment of Severely Calcified Femoropopliteal Lesions Using the "Pave-and-Crack" Technique: Technical Description and 12-Month Results.

Purpose: To report midterm results of the "pave-and-crack" technique to facilitate safe and effective scaffolding of heavily calcified femoropopliteal lesions in preparation for delivery of a Supera interwoven stent.

Methods: Data were collected retrospectively on 67 consecutive patients (mean age 71±8 years; 54 men) treated with this technique between November 2011 and February 2017 at a single center. A third (22/64, 34%) of the patients had critical limb ischemia (CLI).

Thrombectomy Devices in the Treatment of Acute Mesenteric Ischemia: Initial Single-Center Experience.

Background: To report our preliminary experience with endovascular revascularization of patients with acute mesenteric ischemia (AMI), using thrombectomy devices.

Methods: It is a retrospective analysis of patients admitted to our hospital due to AMI and who were subjected to concomitant or exclusive endovascular treatment, from January 2011 to January 2016. Patients were admitted at the emergency department, underwent imaging investigation, and were referred to the endovascular specialist.

Six-Month Results From the Initial Randomized Study of the Ranger Paclitaxel-Coated Balloon in the Femoropopliteal Segment.

Purpose: To evaluate the performance of the Ranger paclitaxel-coated balloon vs uncoated balloon angioplasty for femoropopliteal lesions.

Methods: Between January 2014 and October 2015, the prospective, randomized RANGER SFA study ( ClinicalTrials.gov identifier NCT02013193) enrolled 105 patients with symptomatic lower limb ischemia (Rutherford category 2-4) and stenotic lesions in the nonstented femoropopliteal segment at 10 European centers.

Renal Sympathetic Denervation System via Intraluminal Ultrasonic Ablation: Therapeutic Intravascular Ultrasound Design and Preclinical Evaluation.

Purpose: To assess the safety and performance of a nonfocused and nonballooned ultrasonic (US) catheter-based renal sympathetic denervation (RDN) system in normotensive swine.

Materials And Methods: RDN with the therapeutic intravascular US catheter was evaluated in 3 experiments: (i) therapeutic intravascular US RDN vs a control group of untreated animals with follow-up of 30, 45, and 90 days (n = 6; n = 12 renal arteries for each group); (ii) therapeutic intravascular US RDN vs radiofrequency (RF) RDN in the contralateral artery in the same animal (n = 2; n = 4 renal arteries); and (iii) therapeutic intravascular US RDN in a recently stent-implanted renal artery (n = 2; n = 4 renal arteries).

Results: In the first experiment, therapeutic intravascular US RDN was safe, without angiographic evidence of dissection or renal artery stenosis.

The tibiopedal retrograde vascular access for challenging popliteal and below-the-knee chronic total occlusions: literature review and description of the technique.

In recent years, the retrograde tibiopedal approach is increasingly being used for revascularization of complex chronic total occlusions of infrainguinal arteries to bailout those cases where a guidewire was not possible to pass through the lesion from antegrade and therefore the treatment would have failed. The present popularity of this technique is in contrast to the paucity of data published so far. Nevertheless, from the reports that are available and from the authors' experience we conclude that it is not only a successful but also a safe technique.

Single-center experience with vascular closure devices in real-world endovascular peripheral interventions.

Background: The aim of the current study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of vascular closure devices (VCDs) in non-cardiac endovascular interventions.

Methods: Retrospective analysis of consecutive patients submitted to endovascular interventions, with deployment of 2327 vascular closure devices. Demographic, clinical/periprocedural, post-operative, complication and reintervention data were reviewed.

Rotarex Mechanical Debulking in Acute and Subacute Arterial Lesions.

Introduction: Data regarding the effectiveness and safety of percutaneous mechanical thrombectomy (PMT) in contemporary routine care are scarce.

Materials And Methods: Consecutive patients undergoing PMT of native lower limb acutely/subacutely occluded arteries were included.

Results: In all, 525 consecutive patients were available for analysis with a mean age of 66.

Single-Center Experience With Lutonix Drug-Coated Balloons in Infrapopliteal Arteries.

Purpose: To examine patient outcomes following the use of the Lutonix drug-coated balloon (DCB) in patients undergoing endovascular intervention in below-the-knee (BTK) arteries.

Methods: A retrospective chart review identified 248 patients who were treated for symptomatic peripheral artery disease with the Lutonix DCB between May 2013 and October 2014. Forty patients were lost to follow-up, leaving 208 patients (mean age 74.

Drug-Coated Balloons for Complex Femoropopliteal Lesions: 2-Year Results of a Real-World Registry.

Objectives: The authors sought to investigate the efficacy of a drug-coated balloon (DCB) for treatment of complex femoropopliteal lesions.

Background: Superiority of DCBs compared with uncoated balloon angioplasty for femoropopliteal interventions has been demonstrated in randomized trials for short lesions. Their performance in complex lesions with higher restenosis rates is unclear.

Midterm Patency After Femoropopliteal Interventions: A Comparison of Standard and Interwoven Nitinol Stents and Drug-Coated Balloons in a Single-Center, Propensity Score-Matched Analysis.

Purpose: To describe and compare primary patency rates in patients undergoing endovascular femoropopliteal interventions with standard or interwoven nitinol stents or drug-coated balloons.

Methods: A cohort of 1292 patients was treated for symptomatic femoropopliteal occlusive disease classified as Rutherford category ≥ 1 at a large vascular center between June 2006 and August 2013 using either standard nitinol stents (SNS; n=432), interwoven nitinol stents (INS; n=470), or drug-coated balloons (DCB; n=390). Primary patency rates were assessed by ultrasound or angiographic readings for over 3 years of follow-up.

Evaluation of the Biodegradable Igaki-Tamai Scaffold After Drug-Eluting Balloon Treatment of De Novo Superficial Femoral Artery Lesions: The GAIA-DEB Study.

Purpose: To evaluate the safety and efficacy of the Igaki-Tamai biodegradable scaffold after drug-eluting balloon (DEB) angioplasty in patients with occlusive superficial femoral artery (SFA) disease.

Methods: A prospective, single-center, nonrandomized study enrolled 20 patients (mean age 66.7±11.

Postinterventional microembolism signals detected by transcranial Doppler ultrasound after carotid artery stenting.

Background: The occurrence of early post-procedural complications after carotid artery stenting (CAS) can be attributed to embolization of thrombus or plaque particles released from the stented segment. Vascular emboli can be non-invasively detected by transcranial Doppler ultrasound as microembolic signals (MES). We performed this study to discover factors predicting MES detected by transcranial Doppler (TCD)-monitoring within the early post-interventional phase.

Late open conversion after endovascular aneurysm repair.

Objectives: Endovascular treatment of the infrarenal abdominal aorta (endovascular repair, EVAR) has emerged as an alternative to open surgery. However, a small subset of patients exists who undergo conversion either in the first 30 postoperative days or later during the course of postoperative surveillance. In the present study, we review our experience with late conversion operations.

Renal denervation for hypertension refractory to renal artery stenting.

Purpose: To investigate the effect of renal denervation (RDN) on blood pressure and renal function in refractory hypertension after renal artery recanalization and optimal medical therapy.

Methods: Ten patients (6 women; mean age 70.0±5.

Treatment of complex atherosclerotic femoropopliteal artery disease with a self-expanding interwoven nitinol stent: midterm results from the Leipzig SUPERA 500 registry.

Aims: To examine the efficacy and durability of an interwoven self-expanding nitinol stent in the treatment of complex femoropopliteal artery lesions in unselected patients.

Methods And Results: Five hundred and twenty-seven limbs in 470 patients with femoropopliteal arterial disease were treated with SUPERA stents. Follow-up data were prospectively collected in a single-centre registry and were available for 439 patients (492 limbs).

Bifurcation stenting after failed angioplasty of infrapopliteal arteries in critical limb ischemia: techniques and short-term follow-up.

Objectives: To report on the efficacy of drug eluting stents (DES) in below the knee lesions involving arterial bifurcations after failed angioplasty.

Background: DES have become a mainstay in the treatment of below the knee lesions. However, little is known about the efficacy of DES in infrapopliteal lesions involving the arterial bifurcations.

Treatment of complex atherosclerotic popliteal artery disease with a new self-expanding interwoven nitinol stent: 12-month results of the Leipzig SUPERA popliteal artery stent registry.

Objectives: We examined the efficacy and durability of a new interwoven self-expanding nitinol stent system in the treatment of complex popliteal artery lesions in unselected patients.

Background: The optimal endovascular treatment strategy for atherosclerotic popliteal artery disease is not known.

Methods: We retrospectively analyzed the data gathered in 101 consecutive patients presenting with atherosclerotic, popliteal arterial disease, who underwent implantation of 125 stents.

First clinical experience with the GARDEX EPD: a novel embolic protection device for carotid artery stenting.

Aims: Carotid artery stenting (CAS) has become an alternative to carotid endarterectomy in the treatment of carotid artery disease. The use of an embolic protection device (EPD) can reduce the frequency of embolic events during CAS. Difficult vascular anatomy may complicate current generation EPD placement.