Increased Endovascular Interventions Decrease the Rate of Lower Limb Artery Bypass Operations without an Increase in Major Amputation Rate

Starting a Vascular Surgery Fellowship at a Rural Healthcare Center

INTRODUCTION

In the United States, there is an anticipated critical shortage of vascular surgeons in the coming decades. The shortage is expected to be particularly pronounced in rural areas. Our institution serves a rural and underserved population in which the incidence and prevalence of cardiovascular disease continues to rise. Our institution maintains a general surgery residency and has all the required Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) rotations and educational infrastructure to support a vascular surgery fellowship. This study aims to analyze the vascular caseload at our institution to determine if we and other institutions with similar surgical volumes can support the creation of a 2-year vascular fellowship.

METHODS

A single-site retrospective review of the number and type of vascular cases conducted at our institution between July 2016 and June 2021 was performed. The procedures were grouped into the following ACGME-defined categories: abdominal, cerebrovascular, complex, endovascular aneurysm repair, endovascular diagnostic or therapeutic, and peripheral. The total number and annual average for each category was obtained. Using the annual average, a 2-year estimate was calculated and compared to the ACGME minimum for each category. Our 2-year estimate was then compared to the national average for graduating vascular surgery fellows in order to generate a z-score for each category.

RESULTS

In the specified period, 6100 total surgical procedures were performed by three vascular surgeons at our institution. Two thousand five hundred and seventy-eight of the 6100 procedures met at least one of the ACGME-defined category requirements. Our center greatly exceeded the requirements for each category except for abdominal. This is consistent with trends observed in most centers across the nation, which are seeing a decline in open repairs across all categories, especially in open abdominal repairs. Our center's vascular case volume shows no significant difference the national average in each ACGME category (P ≥ 0.05 for all).

CONCLUSIONS

Despite our center's large vascular caseload and need for more vascular providers, there were not enough open abdominal cases performed to support the training of a vascular fellow. Given the continued decline in open aortic volume across the country, we anticipate that rural centers similar to our own will have difficulty establishing programs to train and recruit vascular surgeons. Flexibility in the abdominal category requirement or creation of open aortic fellowships may be necessary for smaller rural centers to train vascular surgeons and meet the future needs of the specialty.

Comparison of the Incidence of Complications and Secondary Surgical Interventions Necessary in Patients with Chronic Lower Limb Ischemia Treated by Both Open and Endovascular Surgeries

BACKGROUND

Peripheral arterial disease (PAD) affects 3%-10% of the population before the age of 70 years and 15%-20% after that age.The aim of the study was to compare the incidence of complications and secondary interventions in patients who underwent each type of treatment.

METHODS

We analyzed 734 medical records of the Department of Surgery at the 4th Military Teaching Hospital in Wroclaw, In total, 394 were operated on with open surgery; an endarterectomy (59.39%), a vascular prosthesis implantation (31.01%), or both of these techniques (6.6%), and 340 patients had angioplasty with (50.59%) or without stenting (49.41%).

RESULTS

There were no statistically significant differences in the incidence of corresponding complications. The exception was the infection of the wound; significantly fewer were reported in the case of endovascular procedures (p = 0.0087). There were 12 occasions (3.53%) during endovascular surgeries when intraoperative conversion or re-operation using the open method occurred. In the case of open surgery, the mean hospital stay was 7.77 days (median: 8, mode: 8), while for endovascular management it was equal to 4.68 days (median: 4, mode: 3), p <0.0001.

CONCLUSION

The endovascular method results in a similar re-operation rate and number of complications as open surgery.

Amputation Risk in Patients with Diabetes Mellitus and Peripheral Artery Disease Using Statewide Data

BACKGROUND

Conflicting data exist regarding changes in amputation rates in patients with ulcers because of diabetes mellitus (DM) and peripheral artery disease (PAD). This study focuses on how population-based amputation rates are changing in the current treatment era.

METHODS

Using the California Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development Patient Discharge database, all patients who underwent major nontraumatic lower extremity (LE) amputation in 2005 through 2011 were identified. Age-adjusted population-based amputation risk was determined by year. Gender and age trends in amputation risk were estimated separately for diabetes-related amputations and PAD-related amputations, treating all California residents as the population at risk.

RESULTS

From 2005 to 2011, 32,025 qualifying amputations were performed in California. Of these, 11,896 were DM-associated (n = 1,095), PAD-associated (n = 4,335), or associated with both conditions (n = 6,466). PAD-associated amputation rates and combined PAD/DM-associated amputation rates have changed little since 2009 after decreasing substantially over the prior 5 years, but DM-associated amputation rates have continuously increased since 2005. California residents older than the age of 80 years had the most dramatic decrease in PAD-associated amputation rates from 2005 to 2011 (i.e., from 317 to 175 per million Californians). Men with PAD/DM had amputation rate 1.5 times higher than those of patients with PAD alone and 5 times higher than rates of DM patients. In women the difference between patient with PAD and PAD/DM was not seen; however, these rates were 2.5 times higher than patients with DM alone.

CONCLUSIONS

Preventable amputations associated with high-risk diseases are no longer decreasing despite continuing advances in care and education. Octogenarians with PAD represent the highest risk group for amputation, but DM-associated amputations have increased since 2005. Further research to understand treatment pathways for patient with LE wounds may shed light on pathways for amputation prevention in the future.

Surgical revascularization techniques for diabetic foot

Diabetes is an important risk factor for atherosclerosis. The diabetic foot is characterized by the presence of arteriopathy and neuropathy. The vascular damage includes non-occlusive microangiopathy and macroangiopathy. Diabetic foot wounds are responsible for 5-10% of the cases of major or minor amputations. In fact, the risk of amputation of the lower limbs is 15-20% higher in diabetic populations than in the general population. The University of Texas classification is the reference classification for diabetic wounds. It distinguishes non-ischemic wounds from ischemic wounds which are associated with a higher rate of amputation. The first principles of treatment are the control of pain of an eventual infection. When ischemia is diagnosed, restoration of pulsatile blood flow by revascularization may be considered for salvaging the limb. The treatment options are angioplasty with or without stenting and surgical bypass or hybrid procedures combining the two. Distal reconstructions with anastomosis to the leg or pedal arteries have satisfactory limb-salvage rates. Subintimal angioplasty is a more recent endovascular technique. It could be suggested for elderly patients who are believed to be unsuitable candidates for a conventional bypass or angioplasty. The current article would focus on the various revascularization procedures.

ECG-triggered non-contrast-enhanced MR angiography (TRANCE) versus digital subtraction angiography (DSA) in patients with peripheral arterial occlusive disease of the lower extremities

OBJECTIVE

To prospectively determine the diagnostic value of electrocardiography-triggered non-contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance angiography (TRANCE) of the lower extremities including the feet versus DSA.

METHODS

All 43 patients with symptomatic peripheral arterial occlusive disease (PAOD) underwent TRANCE before DSA. Quality of MRA vessel depiction was rated by two independent radiologists on a 3-point scale. Arterial segments were graded for stenoses using a 4-point scale (grade 1: no stenosis; grade 2: moderate stenosis; grade 3: severe stenosis; grade 4: occlusion). Findings were compared with those of DSA.

RESULTS

In the 731 vessel segments analysed, intra-arterial DSA revealed 283 stenoses: 33.6% moderate, 16.6% severe and 49.8% occlusions. TRANCE yielded a mean sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive value and diagnostic accuracy to detect severe stenoses or occlusions of 95.6%, 97.4%, 87.2%, 99.2%, 97.1% for the thigh segments and 95.2%, 87.5%, 83.2%, 96.6%, 90.5% for the calf segments. Excellent overall image quality was observed for TRANCE in 91.4% versus 95.7% (DSA) for the thigh and in 60.7% versus 91.0% for the calves, while diagnostic quality of the pedal arteries was rated as insufficient.

CONCLUSION

TRANCE achieves high diagnostic accuracy in the thigh and calf regions, whereas the pedal arteries showed limited quality.

[Subintimal angioplasty and diabetic foot revascularisation]

Diabetic wounds foot are responsible for 5-10% minor or major amputation in France. In fact, amputation risk of lower limbs is 15-30% higher for diabetic patients. University of Texas classification (UT) is the reference for diabetic foot wound. It distinguish non ischemic and ischemic wound with more amputation. If ischaemia is combined, revascularization may be considered for salvage of the limb. Some revascularization techniques are well known: as surgical by-pass, angioplasty with or without stent, or hybrid procedures with the both. Subintimal angioplasty is a more recent endovascular technique, in assessment for old patients who are believed to be unsuitable candidates for conventional by-pass or angioplasty.