Mid-term clinical outcome following endovascular therapy in patients with chronic aortic occlusion

Direct occluded vessel puncture technique as a new access site for complex peripheral artery occlusive disease

A 77-year-old male was admitted to our hospital for severe intermittent claudication of both legs. He was diagnosed with aorto-iliac occlusions and a right femoro-popliteal artery occlusion with a diseased common femoral artery by a computed tomography angiography of the lower limb. We planned endovascular therapy for these multi-level occlusive lesions. The aorto-iliac lesion of the left side was antegradely recanalized via the left brachial artery. That of the right side was recanalized retrogradely by a direct occlusive vessel puncture (DOVP) with a dedicated 20 G needle and the Hi-Torque Command 18 ST. After stenting, his symptoms were completely relieved without revascularization of right femoro-popliteal artery, and he was discharged without any complications. The DOVP may also be used as an alternative option when there is not an appropriate approach site. <Learning objective: The appropriate selection of the access site for peripheral artery occlusive disease (PAOD) is one of the most important factors to obtain a successful guidewire recanalization. We occasionally encounter multi-level PAOD without an appropriate access site. The direct occluded vessel puncture should be considered as an alternative option.>.

Clinical outcomes of endovascular treatment for chronic aortic occlusion: a retrospective multicentre registry: EVT for chronic aortic occlusion

AIMS

The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical outcomes of endovascular treatment (EVT) for chronic aortic occlusion (CAO) using multicentre registry data.

METHODS AND RESULTS

From April 2003 to December 2015, data on 73 consecutive patients (55 men and 18 women; aged 70.7±12.2 years) who underwent EVT for CAO were collected retrospectively from 15 centres in Japan. The primary endpoint was the primary patency at 12 months after EVT. Secondary endpoints were procedural success and periprocedural complication rates. We analysed 67 patients who underwent complete endovascular revascularisation after 2007. Initial procedural success was achieved in 63 cases (94.0%). Complications occurred in three patients (4.5%) (stroke, n=1; distal embolism, n=1; access-site haematoma requiring blood transfusion, n=1). In patients after successful EVT (n=63), the primary and secondary patency rates at 12 months were 90.7% and 97.7%, respectively. During a mean follow-up period of 17.8 months, restenosis/re-occlusion was observed in eight patients (12.7%).

CONCLUSIONS

EVT for CAO could be performed safely with a high procedural success rate. The short-term clinical outcome was acceptable despite lesion complexity.

Meta-analysis of Individual Patient Data After Kissing Stent Treatment for Aortoiliac Occlusive Disease

PURPOSE

To evaluate short- and long-term technical and clinical outcomes after kissing stent treatment of aortoiliac occlusive disease (AIOD) based on an individual participant data (IPD) meta-analysis.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A search of the Scopus database identified 156 articles on KS treatment of AIOD; of these 22 met the inclusion criteria. Authors of 19 articles with contact information were approached to join an IPD consortium. Eight author groups responded and 5 provided anonymized data for merging into an IPD database. The number of included procedures was equal before and after 2005. The primary study outcome was the cumulative patency at 24 months. Secondary outcomes were patency at up to 60 months, complications, and changes in Rutherford category and ankle-brachial index. The predictive value of stent protrusion length, pre-/postdilation, stent type, and patient demographics on primary patency were examined with Cox proportional hazard modeling; outcomes are reported as the hazard ratio (HR). The Kaplan-Meier method was employed to estimate patency rates.

RESULTS

In total, 605 (40.9%) of 1480 patients presented in the literature were included in the IPD analysis. The indication for intervention was intermittent claudication in 84.2% and critical limb ischemia in 15.8%. Lesions were classified as TransAtlantic Inter-Society Consensus (TASC) A or B in 52.8% and TASC C and D in 47.2%. The overall primary patency estimate was 81% at 24 months. Primary patency significantly increased after 2005 (p=0.005). Cox regression analysis revealed only age as a significant predictor of sustained primary patency (HR 0.60, p<0.005). Any previous endovascular intervention (HR 2.52, p=0.02) was the main predictor for loss of secondary patency; history of cardiovascular disease (HR 0.27, p=0.04) was the main predictor of sustained secondary patency.

CONCLUSION

The kissing stent technique has a good safety profile and acceptable patency rates up to 2 years, even in TASC C and D lesions, supporting an endovascular-first approach for AIOD.

A rare manifestation of severe critical limb ischemia caused by solitary aorto-iliac occlusive disease

Currently, there are more opportunities to treat patients complicated with critical limb ischemia (CLI), which is a very dismal medical condition associated with a high risk of major amputation, disability and death. Because CLI is usually caused by multi-level occlusive atherosclerotic disease, the condition of CLI induced by aorto-iliac occlusive disease (AIOD) alone is thought to be a rare pathological entity. We encountered a patient with severe CLI caused by solitary AIOD. Three vascular access routes were established and stiff guidewires retrogradely passed the occluded arteries on both sides. We deployed two self-expandable bare metal stents and complete revascularization led to wound healing. Recent improvements of catheter devices and procedural techniques related to endovascular treatment (EVT) have enabled us to safely recanalize complex vascular lesions of the lower extremities. Therefore, an EVT strategy is one of the favorable treatment options for CLI patients who are contraindicated for surgical treatments.

Successful hybrid treatment with endovascular aorto-iliac revascularization and coronary bypass surgery in a patient with an advanced complex polyvascular disease

A 72-year-old Japanese man was admitted to our hospital for effort chest pain and bilateral claudication. He was diagnosed as having severe ischemic heart disease and chronic bilateral aorto-iliac occlusions (Leriche syndrome) by a diagnostic angiography. Manifest collaterals via bilateral internal thoracic arteries (ITA) supplied sufficient blood flow for his lower limbs. We planned a two-stage operation for both the severe coronary artery disease and peripheral artery occlusive disease. He first underwent endovascular therapy (EVT) for bilateral aorto-iliac occlusion. One month later he underwent coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) that was carried out for three coronary arteries with bilateral ITAs, also known as the internal thoracic artery, and the gastroepiploic artery. His chest symptoms and claudication were completely relieved and he was discharged uneventfully. We hereby suggest that EVT can be a safe, effective, and minimally invasive treatment to enable the patient to undergo CABG with all arterial grafts. <Learning objective: Patients with polyvascular disease are at a high risk for major vascular events. The priority among the revascularizations should be considered based on the less-invasiveness and better long-term patency. Hybrid treatment of EVT and CABG could be one of the choices among such patients.>.

Successful endovascular treatment for high take off aorto-iliac occlusive disease

A 73-year-old man with a history of intermittent claudication for the previous six years visited our hospital. His ankle-brachial index (ABI) was very low on both sides, and computed tomography (CT) indicated bilateral aorto-iliac occlusive disease (AIOD). As he refused to undergo open surgery, endovascular treatment (EVT) was administered. After the first and second EVT sessions, the intermittent claudication improved completely. In addition, the ABI normalized (right: 1.01, left: 0.99), and CT demonstrated full expansion of the stents. His post-EVT course was uneventful for 18 months. The use of EVT to treat AIOD is technically feasible and may serve as a potential treatment option for patients with an inoperable condition.