Stent-graft detachment from aortic wall after stent-graft repair of acute aortic dissection

AbstractPreliminary studies have demonstrated that stent-graft repair is an attractive method for treatment of aortic dissection. However, few reports have described long-term results. A 72-year-old woman with acute type B aortic dissection underwent stent-graft repair. The entry was closed, and the false lumen disappeared completely. The postoperative course was uneventful for 4 years 5 months, when detachment of the stent graft from the aortic wall was noted. Because the device appears to be stable, follow-up is on an outpatient basis

Acute and contained rupture of the descending thoracic aorta: Treatment with endovascular stent grafts

AbstractPurpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate feasibility and safety of endovascular stent grafting for the treatment of patients with rupture of the descending thoracic aorta. Methods: Thirteen patients with rupture of the descending thoracic aorta were treated with endovascular stent grafting. Six patients were treated on the day of diagnosis because their vital signs were unstable, and the other seven patients were treated electively. Five patients had infection or potential infection, and the other eight patients did not. Expanded polytetrafluoroethylene-covered or polyester-covered Z stents were used in all patients. Results: Stent grafts were successfully placed in all patients. No endoleaks were observed at the end of the procedure. However, rebleeding was observed within 2 weeks of the procedure in two patients with infection. Six patients (46%) died within 5 months of the procedure (mean survival period, 61 ± 60 days). All five patients with infection (100%) died, and only one of eight patients without infection (13%) died (P <.01). The remaining seven patients are alive during the mean follow-up period of 21 months (overall survival rate, 54%), although additional surgical interventions, including surgical conversion in one case and upper extremity extraanatomic bypass in the other, were necessary in two of these patients. Conclusion: Endovascular stent grafting may be a safe and feasible method for the treatment of rupture of the descending thoracic aorta in selected patients without infection. However, its usefulness in terms of long-term prognosis appears to be extremely limited, especially in patients with infection. (J Vasc Surg 2003;37:100-5.

Laparoscopic adrenalectomy for adrenal tumors: A 21-year single-institution experience

We have performed laparoscopic adrenalectomy including retroperitoneoscopic adrenalectomy via a single large port (RASLP) and conventional laparoscopic adrenalectomy (CLA) for adrenal tumors since 1992, and report our experience to date. The study population consisted of 134 patients who underwent laparoscopic adrenalectomy from 1992 to 2012. Fifty-eight patients (18 aldosterone-producing adenomas, 13 adenomas with Cushings syndrome, 1 adenoma with preclinical Cushings syndrome, and 26 nonfunctioning tumors) were treated using RASLP, and 76 patients (33 aldosterone-producing adenomas, 17 adenomas with Cushings syndrome, 6 adenomas with preclinical Cushings syndrome, 17 pheochromocytomas, and 3 nonfunctioning tumors) were treated using CLA. Complications were graded according to the modified Clavien system. The majority of RASLPs were performed during the 1990s, whereas all patients underwent CLA after 2000. The mean operation times (166 vs. 205 minutes, p < 0.01) and intraoperative estimated blood loss (85 vs. 247 mL, p < 0.01) were significantly lower in the CLA group. Conversion to open surgery was required in three patients (5%) in the RASLP group and five patients (7%) in the CLA group (p = 0.73). Postoperative complications were grade 1 in three patients and grades 4 and 5 in one patient each in the RASLP group, whereas grade 2 in one patient was observed in the CLA group (p = 0.085). Although this study included biases such as different eras and indications, CLA resulted in decreased operative times, blood loss, and postoperative complications compared with RASLP. CLA has so far become our preferred procedure for patients with adrenal tumor in our experience