Endovascular treatment of external iliac artery stenoses for claudication with systematic stenting

Effect of conservative treatment in aortoiliac occlusive disease

Objective: To determine the effect of primary conservative treatment without revascularization in patients with proven aortoiliac occlusive disease (AIOD) presenting with intermittent claudication (IC).Background: The initial treatment of IC should focus on supervised exercise therapy (SET) and pharmacotherapy. Nowadays, primary endovascular revascularization (EVR) has become increasingly popular in patients with all types of AIOD. But in daily practice, EVR is often performed without initially extensive exercise.Method: This is a single centre retrospective study from December 2012 to September 2017. Primary outcomes were maximum walking distance (MWD) and patient satisfaction. Secondary outcomes were revascularization rate and mortality.Results: Twenty-four patients were included. Mean age was 64 years (SD: 9). Mean follow-up was 28 months (SD: 17). Nineteen patients (80%) had SET. In 18 (75%) patients, the MWD was improved compared to the initial situation. In five (21%) patients, the MWD stayed the same. The MWD of one (4%) patient decreased. Overall satisfaction rate was 87%. Three patients (13%) were not satisfied with the conservative treatment and eventually got an EVR. There was no disease related death.Conclusions: Conservative treatment, especially with SET, has acceptable subjective symptom outcomes in selected patients with AIOD. It could be a good alternative treatment for certain patients with AIOD and IC.

Comparison of results of endovascular stenting and bypass grafting for TransAtlantic Inter-Society (TASC II) type B, C and D iliac occlusive disease

INTRODUCTION

The priority use of endovascular techniques in the management of aortoiliac occlusive disease has increased in the last decade. The aim of the present article is to report 1- and 2-year results of iliac artery stenting (IAS) and aortoiliac grafting in the management of patients with TASC II type B, C and D iliac lesions and chronic limb ischaemia.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

In this prospective, non-randomised, one-centre clinical study, iliac artery stents and vascular grafts used for the treatment of patients with symptomatic lesions in the iliac artery were evaluated. This study enrolled 2 groups: 54 patients in the stent group and 47 patient in the surgery group.

RESULTS

The primary patency rates at 1 and 2 years were 83% and 79.9% after IAS and 97.1% and 97.1% after surgical reconstruction, respectively (p = 0.015). The assisted primary stent patency at 1 and 2 years was 87.9% and 78.2%, respectively. The complication rate was 7.4% in the stent group and 6.3% in the surgery group. There was no perioperative mortality in either group.

CONCLUSIONS

Our results reveal that patients with severe aortoiliac occlusive disease (TASC II types B, C and D) can be treated with IAS or surgically with satisfactory results. Iliac artery stenting is associated with decreased primary patency compared with the surgery group. Iliac artery stenting should be considered with priority in elderly patients or in patients with severe comorbidities.

Supervised exercise, stent revascularization, or medical therapy for claudication due to aortoiliac peripheral artery disease: the CLEVER study

BACKGROUND

Treatment for claudication that is due to aortoiliac peripheral artery disease (PAD) often relies on stent revascularization (ST). However, supervised exercise (SE) is known to provide comparable short-term (6-month) improvements in functional status and quality of life. Longer-term outcomes are not known.

OBJECTIVES

The goal of this study was to report the longer-term (18-month) efficacy of SE compared with ST and optimal medical care (OMC).

METHODS

Of 111 patients with aortoiliac PAD randomly assigned to receive OMC, OMC plus SE, or OMC plus ST, 79 completed the 18-month clinical and treadmill follow-up assessment. SE consisted of 6 months of SE and an additional year of telephone-based exercise counseling. Primary clinical outcomes included objective treadmill-based walking performance and subjective quality of life.

RESULTS

Peak walking time improved from baseline to 18 months for both SE (5.0 ± 5.4 min) and ST (3.2 ± 4.7 min) significantly more than for OMC (0.2 ± 2.1 min; p < 0.001 and p = 0.04, respectively). The difference between SE and ST was not significant (p = 0.16). Improvement in claudication onset time was greater for SE compared with OMC, but not for ST compared with OMC. Many disease-specific quality-of-life scales demonstrated durable improvements that were greater for ST compared with SE or OMC.

CONCLUSIONS

Both SE and ST had better 18-month outcomes than OMC. SE and ST provided comparable durable improvement in functional status and in quality of life up to 18 months. The durability of claudication exercise interventions merits its consideration as a primary PAD claudication treatment.

Placement of hemoparin-coated stents in the iliac arteries: early experience and midterm results in 28 patients

PURPOSE

Aim was to determine immediate results and mid-term outcome of the hemoparin-coated (HC) stainless-steel stent (camouflage coating) in the treatment of occlusive lesions of the iliac arteries.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Twenty-eight patients were prospectively treated with the use of a HC stent between January 2007 and March 2010. Clinical examination and color-doppler ultrasound were performed at 1, 3, 6 and 12 months, CT angiography (CTA) or MR angiography (MRA) at 12 months. Indication for treatment was a high-grade stenosis of the common iliac and/or external iliac artery.

RESULTS

Successful placement was achieved in all patients. Significant decrease in translesional pressure gradient (>10 mm Hg) was measured in 27 patients (96%). In one patient, proximal dissection occurred without flow limitation. A minor complication (small access site hematoma) occurred in one patient (4%). Two patients (7%) were lost to follow-up. After 12 months, stent patency in CTA, MRA and ultrasound was 100%. 20 patients (77%) experienced an initial improvement of at least one clinical stage. In one patient (4%), mild intimal hyperplasia without significant stenosis was observed. In three patients (12%), proximal or distal stenosis occurred. A non-significant increase of mean ankle-brachial index (ABI) after treatment was measured (0.85 ± 0.27 vs. 0.75 ± 0.22, respectively; p=0.328).

CONCLUSIONS

The use of HC stents in patients with iliac artery occlusive disease may lead to a lower rate of intimal hyperplasia and thus to increased patency rates even in heavily calcified vessels. However, large-scale prospective trials have to be performed to evaluate the long-term patency rates of the HC coated stents.

Self-expanding stents and aortoiliac occlusive disease: a review of the literature

The treatment of symptomatic aortoiliac occlusive disease has shifted from open to endovascular repair. Both short- and long-term outcomes after percutaneous angioplasty and stenting rival those after open repair and justify an endovascular-first approach. In this article, we review the current endovascular treatment strategies in patients with aortoiliac occlusive disease, indications for primary and selective stenting in the iliac artery, and physical properties and future perspectives of self-expanding stents.

Neointimal hyperplasia after stent placement across size-discrepant vessels in an animal study

PURPOSE

To examine differences in neointimal hyperplasia (NIH) after placing a self-expanding (SE) stent across size-discrepant vessels.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The subjects were 6 beagles, and the target vessels were the abdominal aorta and the external iliac artery (EIA). A nitinol SE stent was placed which was normal-sized in the aorta and oversized in the EIA. Angiography and intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) were performed immediately and after 1 and 3 months; histopathologic examinations were then performed. Furthermore, the chronic outward force (COF) on the same type of stent was investigated in vitro.

RESULTS

On IVUS, thickened intima was seen on the EIA at 1 month (5.1 ± 4.2 mm(2)) and at 3 months (7.8 ± 2.5 mm(2)). For the aorta, thickening of the intima was negligible at any time. Histopathologically, the percentage of the vessel obliterated by NIH was significantly greater on the iliac side than on the aortic side (33.2 ± 10.4 vs. 13.4 ± 4.4 %). The COF exerted when stent diameter reached that of the EIA and the aorta was 0.73 and 0.17 N/mm(2), respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

When a non-tapered stent is placed in vessels with a large discrepancy in diameter, attention must be paid to increased NIH in the oversized side.

Midterm outcomes of stent placement for long-segment iliac artery chronic total occlusions: a retrospective evaluation in a single institution

PURPOSE

To assess the clinical and patency results of stent placement for long-segment iliac artery chronic total occlusions (CTOs).

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A retrospective analysis of 217 patients (141 men and 76 women; mean age, 76.6 y; 256 limbs) with long-segment (>5 cm) iliac artery CTOs treated with stent placement was conducted in a single institution from January 2005 to July 2011. Demographics, clinical presentation, classification, comorbidity, ankle-brachial index (ABI) before and after treatment, technical success, patency, and complications were recorded at follow-up. The approach was initial access from the left brachial artery or the contralateral femoral artery.

RESULTS

According to the TransAtlantic Inter-Society Consensus for the Management of Peripheral Arterial Disease (TASC II) classification, 27 patients were type B, 143 were type C, and 47 were type D. Clinical presentation was recorded according to the Rutherford-Becker classification: 35 patients presented with stage 3; 108, with stage 4; 53, with stage 5; and 21, with stage 6. Technical success was 96.5% (247 of 256). Periprocedural in-stent thrombosis occurred in nine patients and was treated successfully with catheter-directed thrombolysis. ABI increased from 0.36±0.16 (range, 0-0.57) before the procedure to 0.79±0.24 (range, 0.56-1.12) after the procedure. The mean duration of follow-up was 25.4 months (range, 1-72 months). The primary, primary assisted, and secondary patency of the iliac artery was 95.1%, 98.4%, and 99.2% at 1 year and 91.9%, 95.6%, and 97.5% at 2 years, respectively. Major complications were encountered in 17 (6.6%) patients, and minor complications occurred in 12 (4.7%) patients.

CONCLUSIONS

These data suggest that stent placement is an effective, safe, and feasible method for treating long-segment iliac artery CTOs.

Sustained patency and clinical improvement following treatment of atherosclerotic iliac artery disease using the Assurant cobalt iliac balloon-expandable stent system

PURPOSE

To report the outcome of the ACTIVE (Use of the Assurant Cobalt Iliac Stent System in the Treatment of Iliac Vessel Disease) study (ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT00753337), which was designed to determine the safety and effectiveness of the next-generation Assurant cobalt chromium balloon-expandable stent in symptomatic patients with iliac occlusive disease.

METHODS

This prospective, multicenter, single-arm study enrolled 123 symptomatic (Fontaine class II or III) patients (69 men; mean age 65.5±10.6 years) with 159 de novo or restenotic lesions (length ≤100 mm) in the common or external iliac arteries. Objective measures of outcome were ankle or toe-brachial indexes, Fontaine class, and duplex ultrasound evaluations collected before the procedure and at 1 and 9 months. The primary endpoint of major adverse events (MAE) at 9 months was defined as device- and procedure-related death, target limb loss, or clinically-driven target lesion or target vessel revascularization (TLR/TVR).

RESULTS

At 9 months, the rate of MAE was 0.8% with 1 TLR and 99.2% primary patency. There were no device- or procedure-related deaths or target limb amputations. The ankle-brachial index increased by 0.2±0.2 at 1 and 9 months. There was an improvement in the Fontaine classification of claudication for the majority of patients, accompanied by significant and sustained improvements in walking speed, distance, and stair climbing.

CONCLUSION

The balloon-expandable Assurant cobalt chromium iliac stent demonstrated an excellent safety profile and sustained patency associated with marked improvements in objective and functional measures of patency.

Midterm results of endovascular treatment of iliac artery lesions: analysis of 59 cases

BACKGROUND: Endovascular treatment of peripheral arterial occlusive disease has become increasingly frequent in the past few years. Because it is a less invasive procedure, lower morbidity and mortality rates are associated with this form of treatment. OBJECTIVES: To describe the endovascular procedures performed in iliac arteries for the treatment of peripheral arterial occlusive disease. METHODS: This retrospective study assesses 59 cases of iliac artery angioplasty performed according to a specific protocol from January 2004 to February 2010. RESULTS: Mean age of patients was 62 years (minimum: 42, maximum: 89). Thirty seven were male (62.72%) and 22 female (37.28%). The main indications for treatment were moderate to severe intermittent claudication in 30 cases (50.84%) and rest pain or trophic lesions (critical ischemia) in 29 cases (49.15%). Postoperative follow-up included ankle-brachial index measurements and a duplex ultrasound at 30 days, 3 months, 6 months, 12 months, and every 6 months thereafter. Minimum follow-up time was 3 months, and maximum, 72 months (6 years), with primary and secondary patency rates of 91.37 and 94.82%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this case series, combined with literature review results, allow to conclude that the endovascular approach is an effective and safe option to treat peripheral arterial occlusive disease in iliac arteries.

External iliac artery stenting: high incidence of concomitant revascularization procedures

OBJECTIVES

To review immediate results, patency rates, hemodynamic success, and incidence of concomitant procedures with external iliac artery stenting (EIAS).

METHODS

Demographic features, category and clinical grade, Trans-Atlantic Inter-Society Consensus II classification lesion type, pre- and postprocedure ankle-brachial indices, and primary patency were compared between group 1 (EIAS without distal revascularization) and group 2 (EIAS with concomitant distal revascularization).

RESULTS

No mortality and a 100% immediate technical success rate was recorded in group 1 (n = 12) and group 2 (n = 24). Eleven patients (30.6%) also had stenting of the adjacent common iliac artery. Two thirds of group 2 patients required concomitant femoral or distal revascularization.

CONCLUSIONS

No difference in stent patency rates was found between patients in group 1 versus group 2. Patients requiring EIAS tend to have more diffuse arterial disease necessitating complicated open reconstruction and/or distal revascularization, as well as more proximal iliac stenting.

Stent-triggered 'electric shock' during leg bending 2 years after emergency iliac artery percutaneous revascularization

We report a case of a 41-year-old woman who underwent surgical removal of an uterine leiomyoma, complicated by accidental injury of the left external iliac artery, treated by suturing. A few days after the intervention the patient was treated with emergency percutaneous stent implantation for acute thrombotic occlusion of the external iliac artery. Two years later, the patient began to complain of pain in the left leg, as an 'electric shock' sensation in the leg during squatting and leg adduction on the trunk. An angiographic control showed a critical in-stent restenosis at the level of a misplaced stent. Thus the patient was submitted to surgical exploration and stent removal.