Stent-assisted recanalisation of acute occlusive arteries in patients with acute limb ischaemia

Management of Acute Complications during Endovascular Procedures in Peripheral Arterial Disease: A Review

Endovascular therapy, as opposed to surgical bypass, has become the mainstay for peripheral arterial disease even in long segment occlusions. Complications can occur during the arterial access, catheter manipulation, balloon dilation, and/or stent placement. Given the high prevalence of comorbidities such as diabetes, hypertension, renal dysfunction, and coronary artery disease in these patients, early identification of procedural complications and initiation of treatment are of paramount importance. This review aims to provide comprehensive data on the identification and management of commonly encountered endovascular complications during endovascular interventions in peripheral arterial disease.

Endovascular approach for acute limb ischemia without thrombolytic therapy

Background:

Endovascular therapy for acute lower limb ischemia (ALLI) has developed and demonstrated safety and efficacy. The purpose of this study was to assess clinical outcomes in patients treated for ALLI with conventional endovascular or surgical revascularization.

Method:

This study was a retrospective single-center review. Consecutive patients with ALLI treated with conventional endovascular revascularization (ER) without thrombolytic agent or surgical revascularization (SR) between 2008 and 2014 were investigated. The 1 year and 3 year amputation rate and mortality rate were assessed by time-to-event methods, including Kaplan–Meier estimation.

Result:

A total of 64 limbs in 62 patients with ALLI due to thromboembolism or thrombosis of a native artery, bypass graft, or previous stented vessel were included. The majority of limbs (90.9%) presented with Rutherford clinical categories 1 to 2 ischemia. Technical success rate was 95.5% in ER and 92.9% in SR group (p = 0.547). Overall amputation rates were 9.1% in ER versus 9.5% in SR after 1 year (p = 0.971) and 9.1% in ER versus 11.9% in SR after 3 year (p = 0.742). Overall mortality rates were 15% in ER versus 7.1% in SR after 1 year (p = 0.491) and 15% in ER versus 11.2% in SR after 3 year (p = 0.878).

Conclusion:

Endovascular or surgical revascularization of ALLI resulted in comparable outcomes in limb salvage and mortality rate at 1 year and 3 year. Conventional endovascular therapy without thrombolytic agent such as stenting, balloon angioplasty, or catheter-directed thrombosuction may be considered as a treatment option for ALLI.

"Bailout" Endovascular Treatment of Acute Aortic Occlusion

A 37-year-old man who had a recent history of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) 3 months ago presented to the emergency department with acute ischemia of lower limbs. A CT aortography was performed, where left ventricle thrombi and acute thromboembolic occlusion of aortoiliac bifurcation were depicted. He was urgently transferred to the operation theatre, where Fogarty embolectomy was initially unsuccessful. He was managed by primary deployment of balloon expandable (BE) covered stents in the aortic bifurcation followed by thrombectomy of the left ventricle (LV) under extracorporeal circulation by cardiothoracic surgeons 2 days after initial operation. He was discharged in good general condition after 20 days under warfarin and aspirin therapy.

Direct Stenting in Patients with Acute Lower Limb Arterial Occlusions: Immediate and Long-Term Results

PURPOSE

The purpose of this study is to accentuate the efficacy of direct stenting (stent placement without predilatation of the lesion) in patients with acute lower limb arterial ischemia (ALLI).

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Between January 2010 and September 2015, 16 patients (11 men and 5 women) underwent direct stenting of acute arterial occlusions. All patients had contraindication for surgical revascularization or catheter-directed thrombolysis. According to SVS/ISCVS Classification, six patients had IIa and ten patients IIb ALLI. The occlusions were located in CIA, EIA, SFA, or popliteal artery. Mean follow-up time with clinical examination and color Duplex ultrasonography was 37.6 months (range 1-72). We analyzed the technical and clinical outcomes of the procedures, as well the complications and patency rates.

RESULTS

Technical success was achieved in all patients (16/16) and there was significant clinical improvement in 15 patients. There was neither distal embolization nor procedure-related complications. During the 6 years of follow-up, four patients died due to non-procedure-related causes and there were two minor and one major amputations. The primary patency rates and the amputation-free survival rates were 93.7 and 87% at 1 year, 75.2 and 71.2% at 3 years, and 75.2 and 62.3%, respectively, at 6 years.

CONCLUSIONS

Direct stenting may be a valuable alternative procedure for acute arterial occlusions in selected cases with high technical success and significant clinical improvement.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE

Level 4, Case Series.

Acute Ischemia due to Superficial Femoral Artery Thrombosis: Results of In Situ Fibrinolysis

BACKGROUND

The management of acute ischemia due to the thrombosis superficial femoral artery (SFA) stents is complex. In situ arterial fibrinolysis, still not evaluated in this indication, would allow, by lifting the ischemia and uncovering its cause, to avoid thrombectomy, endovascular recanalization, or arterial bypass. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the effectiveness, the complications, and the assisted secondary patency of in situ fibrinolysis for thrombosis of SFA stents.

METHODS

We conducted a retrospective monocentric study with prospective collection of the data. Between October 2011 and December 2014, 86 in situ fibrinolysis procedures were carried out for acute lower limb ischemia. Twelve procedures were carried out for acute ischemia due to the thrombosis of SFA stents. Clinical success was defined by the lifting of acute ischemia. The causes of thromboses, the complications related to the fibrinolysis, and the secondary assisted patency were analyzed.

RESULTS

The mean age of the patients was 66.3 (55-90) years. The average length of the stents was 119.3 (18-270) mm. In 10 patients, the thrombosis extended in the full length of the artery. The average time between the implantation of the stent and the initiation of the fibrinolysis was 180 (11-369) days. The average time between the beginning of the symptoms and fibrinolysis was 5 (0-12) days. The average duration of treatment was 46 (24-72) hr. Clinical success was obtained in all the patients. Diagnosed isolated or associated lesions were a progression of the atheromatous disease upstream or downstream of the stent in 6 cases, and an isolated intrastent restenosis in 3 cases. In 2 cases, no obvious cause was found. One or more additional endovascular procedures were carried out in 9 cases at the end of the fibrinolysis, and consisted of a transluminal intrastent angioplasty with an active balloon in 5 cases, an additional stenting in 3 cases, and the stenting of upstream or downstream arteries in 5 cases. Secondary assisted patency was 100% at 5 months. No major hemorrhagic complication was observed. Two false aneurysms at the site of femoral puncture were observed.

CONCLUSION

Our results suggest that ischemia due to the thrombosis of SFA stents can be dealt with first intention in situ fibrinolysis which allows the endovascular treatment of the causal lesion, thus avoiding thrombectomy or bypass.

Endovascular Management of Aorta-Iliac Stenosis and Occlusive Disease by Kissing-Stent Technique

Kissing-stenting treatment has been used to treat patients with peripheral artery disease (PAD). However, the long term efficacy of the stenting therapy is not well defined in Chinese PAD patients. To investigate the question, sixty-three PAD patients (37 males and 26 females), aged 66 ± 7.3 years, were analysed in the study. They were featured as claudication (n = 45, 71.4%), rest pain (n = 18, 28.6%), or gangrene (n = 8, 12.7%). In total, 161 stents were applied in aorta-iliac lesions with 2.6 stents for each patient, including 55 self-expanding stents, 98 balloon expandable stents, and 8 covered stents. The success rate of implanting Kissing-stents was 100%. Catheter-directed thrombolysis (CDT) with urokinase was performed in 8 cases (12.7%). The severity of peripheral ischemia was significantly improved, as evidenced by 3.3-fold increase of ankle-brachial pressure index (ABI) after the surgery (P = 0.008). One, three, five, and seven years after surgery, the primary patency rate was 87.3%, 77.4%, 71.1%, and 65.0%, whereas the secondary patency rate was 95.2%, 92.5%, 89.5%, and 85.0%, respectively. No in-hospital mortality was recorded. In conclusion, Kissing-stenting technique for aorta-iliac lesions is safe and effective with lower complications. It is beneficial for aorta-iliac occlusions that are longer than 60 mm.

Acute embolic occlusion of the right common iliac artery after revision total hip arthroplasty treated with catheter-directed thrombolysis and balloon angioplasty: A case report

METHODS

A 63-year-old woman with atrial fibrillation presented clinical symptoms and signs of acute ischemia in the right lower extremity on the 17th postoperative day after revision total hip arthroplasty of the left hip for aseptic loosening of femoral component. Aspirin was discontinued 7 days before surgery. Both computed tomography angiography and digital subtraction angiography demonstrated complete occlusion of the right common iliac artery. An emergency catheter-directed thrombolysis with urokinase combined with balloon angioplasty was performed to obtain complete patency of the right common iliac artery.

RESULTS

The patient received anticoagulation and antiplatelet therapy postoperatively and was fine at the 2-year follow-up.

CONCLUSIONS

This case demonstrated that catheter-directed thrombolysis combined with balloon angioplasty could be an efficacious, minimally invasive approach for the treatment of acute embolic occlusion of the common iliac artery. Preoperative anticoagulation for patients undergoing total hip arthroplasty with long-term use of aspirin for atrial fibrillation needs further investigation.

Life-threatening aortic thrombosis in a trauma patient homozygous for factor V Leiden mutation: Case report

We report a case of near fatal aortic thrombosis in a trauma patient homozygous for mutation of Factor V Leiden. He responded well to vascular surgery and intensive care unit management and was discharged successfully from the hospital one month later.