Pulsatile Wall Motion (PWM) Measurements after Endovascular Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Exclusion are not Useful in the Classification of Endoleak

AbstractThe pulsatile wall motion (PWM) of AAA is reduced after endovascular stent-graft placement. The purpose of this study was to identify whether PWM after endografting was useful in the classification of endoleak.Patients and Methods162 patients treated with EVAR underwent pre- and post-operative PWM assessment with ultrasonography. Follow-up was 1–9 years. 111 patients had well-excluded aneurysms, three patients had enlarging aneurysms without any recognizable endoleak (endotension), 16 had type I, 31 had type II and 1 had type III endoleak.ResultsThe PWM was reduced from about 1mm pre-operatively to 0.24mm post-operatively in well-excluded aneurysms. PWM remained stable during follow-up. Type I endoleak was associated with moderately reduced PWM (proximal endoleak 0.79mm and distal 0.32mm). PWM in patients with type II endoleak was higher (0.32mm) post-operatively (p=0.002) compared to well-excluded aneurysms.ConclusionPWM is permanently reduced after endografting. The smallest reduction in PWM was in patients with type II endoleaks. However, the overlap between the groups does not allow reliable identification of patients having endoleak with PWM-measurements

Complicated Acute Type B Dissections-An 8-years Experience of Endovascular Stent-graft Repair in a Single Centre.

Objective. To analyze the experience of a single centre using stent-grafts for treatment of complicated acute aortic type B-dissections (EVR-ABD). Design. Retrospective analysis of prospectively collected data from patients undergoing EVR-ABD between January 1997 and December 2004. Methods. EVR-ABD was performed in 31 patients (20 males, median age 74. years (IQR: 64-79)). Indications for treatment were aortic rupture (22 patients), intractable pain and hypertension (six patients), acute bowel ischemia (two patients) and transient paraplegia, lower limb and renal ischemia in one patient. Initially home-made devices (five patients) and subsequently commercially available thoracic stent-grafts were used. Results. Five patients (16%) died within 30 days of EVR-ABD. Postoperative complications occurred in 15 (48%) patients, including one paraplegia converted to paraparesis after cerebrospinal fluid drainage, five strokes, three lower limb ischemia, three myocardial infarction, two pneumonia and one colitis). Re-interventions were required in nine patients (29%). Six more deaths occurred during a median follow-up of 22 (IQR: 16-34) months, two related to the stent-graft and four due to cardiac disease. Conclusions. Stent-graft repair of complicated acute type B dissections seems to provide acceptable results and, therefore, it may be considered a valuable alternative to open surgery

Commentary: "Aneurysm Sac Pressure after EVAR"

Abstract is not availabl

The YAG laser and Wallstent endoprosthesis for palliation of cancer in the esophagus or gastric cardia

The need for frequent retreatment is a disadvantage of using endoscopic laser therapy (ELT) alone for palliative treatment of esophageal carcinoma. In this prospective study, therefore, we investigated the potential and feasibility of combining ELT with a self-expanding metallic stent (Wallstent). Twelve patients received ELT followed by stent placement (stent group) and were compared with 39 patients receiving ELT alone (ELT group). Swallowing ability was similar in the two groups. About one-third of the patients who had a short life expectancy, did not appear to benefit from stenting, whereas the interval between retreatments was prolonged by a factor of 2-4 in the remaining patients. Median survivals were 5.5 (range 1.0-23.5) months in patients with stents, and 4.5 (range 1.2-24.6) months in patients without stents. There were few complications related to stenting. In one patient, technical problems caused stent dislodgement into the stomach. Another stent patient died of hemorrhage from an untreated tumor in the stomach, but it was considered unlikely that the bleeding was caused by the stent. In conclusion, this preliminary trial suggests that a Wallstent endoprosthesis, used in combination with laser treatment, may become a valuable tool for prolonging the dysphagia-free interval in selected patients

Endovascular stent-anchored aortic grafts: a comparison between self-expanding and balloon-expandable stents in minipigs

PURPOSE: To study endovascular graft attachment with self-expanding Gianturco Z-stents and balloon-expanded Palmaz stents and the effect of these devices on the renal ostia. METHODS: Ten stent-grafts were constructed, 5 with Gianturco Z-stents and 5 with Palmaz stents. The endografts were implanted under fluoroscopic guidance into the abdominal aorta of 10 pigs so that the uncovered portion of the proximal stent extended over the renal artery orifices. Distal aortic blood pressure and flow were measured before and after graft placement and 1 hour postprocedure. The aorta was then exposed surgically, and the central portion of the stent-graft was inspected through an aortotomy to assess perigraft leakage. RESULTS: Stent-graft implantation was accurate and hemostatic in all cases, despite longitudinal folding of the graft due to oversizing. However, transverse folds produced pressure gradients (> 15 mmHg) between the ends of the graft in two cases. In another case, a pressure gradient resulted from partial thrombosis of the graft. In two cases, renal artery occlusion and thrombosis occurred due to coverage by the graft material. In two other animals, one of the renal arteries was entirely uncovered by a stent. The remaining 16 renal arteries were covered by the proximal stent but not the graft, as intended. One (6.25%) of these arteries thrombosed, but the remainder were grossly patent when the animals were sacrificed at 1 hour. CONCLUSIONS: Both Palmaz and Gianturco Z-stents produced hemostatic endovascular graft attachment, even in the presence of moderate graft oversizing. The risk of acute renal artery occlusion from juxtarenal stenting does not appear to be prohibitive, but longer term observations are needed