Uterine Artery Embolization End Points and Collateral Circulation: Value of Intra-Procedural Non-Contrast Cone Beam CT

Uterine artery embolization (UAE) is a well-accepted treatment for symptomatic uterine fibroids, but endpoints of UAE remain controversial. This is of significant concern as incomplete embolization can lead to treatment failure, necessitating repeat embolization or alternative treatments such as hysterectomy. Multiple potential causes of UAE failure have been described including failure to catheterize one or both of the uterine arteries, uterine artery spasm, clumping of embolic material and collateral blood supply vascularizing the fibroids. In this review, we discuss potential approaches to identifying collateral blood supply to the uterus and suggest that intra-procedural non-contrast cone beam CT provides unique advantages to addressing this issue.</jats:p

Hypogastric artery aneurysm rupture after endovascular graft exclusion with shrinkage of the aneurysm: Significance of endotension from a “virtual,” or thrombosed type II endoleak

AbstractType II endoleaks, resulting from retrograde branch flow, after endovascular graft aneurysm exclusion are considered benign because they usually thrombose and are commonly associated with stable or shrinking aneurysm sacs. We report a hypogastric artery aneurysm rupture from endotension from an undetected, thrombosed Type II endoleak, associated with sac shrinkage. The patient had undergone an endovascular graft repair of a 4-cm right common iliac artery and 9-cm hypogastric artery aneurysm with distal hypogastric artery coil embolization. Serial computed tomography scans revealed no endoleak and a hypogastric aneurysm thrombosis with shrinkage. Eighteen months later, the aneurysm ruptured as a result of pressurization from backbleeding, patent branches. (J Vasc Surg 2001;33:1271-4.