Peroneal bypass versus endovascular peroneal intervention for critical limb ischemia

Retrograde Peroneal Artery Approach to Treat Infra-Inguinal Arterial Chronic Total Occlusions: A Multicentre Experience and Technical Considerations

Background/Objectives: Retrograde access of the peroneal artery (PA) is considered technically challenging and at risk of bleeding. The aim of this multicentre retrospective study was to assess the safety, feasibility, and technical success of this access route for infrainguinal endovascular recanalizations. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 186 consecutive patients treated over a 7-year period (May 2014-August 2021) who underwent endovascular recanalization of infra-inguinal lesions using a PA access route. In all cases, retrograde PA access was obtained following a failed attempt to cross the occlusion via the antegrade route. Results: Among the 186 patients, 120 were males (60.5%) and the mean age was 76.8 ± 10.7 years old (44-94 years). One hundred and thirteen patients (60.7%) suffered from chronic limb threatening ischemia (CLTI). All patients presented with chronic total occlusions (CTO) and a failed conventional antegrade recanalization attempt. Retrograde access was performed under angiographic guidance in 185 cases (99.5%). It was successfully established in 171 cases (91.9%). The total rate of retrograde puncture-related complications was 2.1% (two puncture site bleedings of which one necessitated fasciotomy and two cases of arteriovenous fistulas managed conservatively). The Major Adverse Event (MAE) rate at 30 days was 1.6% (3/186). Conclusions: Retrograde recanalization of challenging infra-inguinal lesions via PA is safe and effective in experienced hands.

Cancer should not contravene the revascularization of chronic limb-threatening ischaemia

OBJECTIVES

This study aimed to examine the frequency of cancer among patients with chronic limb-threatening ischaemia (CLTI) due to peripheral artery disease (PAD) and to determine how active cancer affected outcomes after open or endovascular revascularization. In addition, we aimed to investigate all-cause mortality and cause of death in the PAD population.

DESIGN

Observational single-centre cohort study based on a retrospective analysis of prospectively entered registry data.

MATERIALS

All consecutive patients treated for CLTI due to PAD at a single university centre between the 1st of January 2011 and the 31st of December 2015 were included. Data from the Danish Vascular Registry (Karbase) regarding demographics, surgical procedure, and complications were linked with data from the Danish Cancer Registry and Cause of Death Registry.

METHODS

The primary endpoint was major amputation-free survival. Secondary endpoints were postoperative complications within 30 days, cancer-free survival, all-cause mortality and cause of death in the cohort. Major amputation-free survival, cancer-free survival and mortality were described with Kaplan-Meier (KM) survival estimates.

RESULTS

We included 920 patients, of which 116 (13%) were in the active cancer group at the time of revascularization. There was no difference in amputation-free survival between those with cancer (86.8% 1-year KM estimate) and those without cancer (85.2% 1-year KM estimate) (p = 0.50). Likewise, we found no difference in 30-day postoperative complication rate. The risk of developing cancer in the included CLTI cohort was similar to the age-matched background population (6.1% vs 6.4%) (p = 0.69). All-cause mortality was higher in CLTI patients with cancer, mainly due to cancer, compared with CLTI patients without cancer who mainly died from cardiovascular disease. Three-year KM survival estimates were 48.3% (95% CI 40.0%-58.3%) and 64.4% (95% CI 61.2%-67.8%) (p = 0.014) for cancer and non-cancer patients, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

Although cancer in patients with CLTI is related to higher medium- to long-term mortality, active cancer per se should not contravene revascularization, as postoperative complications and risk of amputation are not overrepresented.

Endovascular revascularization vs. open surgical revascularization for patients with lower extremity artery disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Currently, the main treatment for lower extremity artery disease (LEAD) is revascularization, including endovascular revascularization (EVR) and open surgical revascularization (OSR), but the specific revascularization strategy for LEAD is controversial. This review provided the comprehensive and recent evidence for the treatment of LEAD.

METHODS

Medline, Embase, and the Cochrane Library databases were searched for relevant articles. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and cohort studies comparing the short-term or long-term outcomes between EVR and OSR of LEAD were identified. Short-term outcomes were 30-day mortality, major amputation, wound complication, major adverse cardiovascular events (MACEs), and length of hospital stay (LOS), while long-term outcomes included overall survival (OS), amputation-free survival (AFS), freedom from re-intervention (FFR), primary patency (PP), and secondary patency (SP).

RESULTS

11 RCTs and 105 cohorts involving 750,134 patients were included in this analysis. For the pooled results of cohort studies, EVR markedly decreased the risk of 30-day mortality, wound complication, MACEs, LOS, but increased the risk of OS, FFR, PP, and SP. For the pooled outcomes of RCTs, EVR was associated with obviously lower 30-day mortality, less wound complication and shorter LOS, but higher risk of PP, and SP. However, both RCTs and cohorts did not show obvious difference in 30-day major amputation and AFS.

CONCLUSIONS

Both the pooled results of cohorts and RCTs indicated that EVR was associated with a lower short-term risk for LEAD, while OSR was accompanied by a substantially lower long-term risk. Therefore, the life expectancy of LEAD should be strictly considered when choosing the revascularization modality. As the current findings mainly based on data of retrospective cohort studies, additional high-quality studies are essential to substantiate these results.

SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION

https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/#recordDetails, identifier CRD42022317239.

Is open surgery still the first line of treatment for long femoropopliteal lesions?

INTRODUCTION

Treatment of long femoropopliteal lesions remains a challenge for vascular physicians as patients often present with multilevel complex pathologies and consequently face a high amputation risk and associated mortality. This review aimed to assess the current state of optimal revascularizations for the treatment of long femoropopliteal lesions.

EVIDENCE ACQUISITION

An online literature research of medical databases for original articles and review articles on open and endovascular revascularization of femoropopliteal lesions was conducted using mesh terms.

EVIDENCE SYNTHESIS

There has been an accumulation of evidence over the last years that endovascular treatment is a feasible and enduring alternative to open surgery for treatment of long femoropopliteal lesions if the lesions are restricted to the superficial femoral artery. But when disease extends to the infragenual level venous bypass remains superior with regards to long-term patency, clinical improvement and limb-salvage.

CONCLUSIONS

While the role of venous bypass as a first-line treatment might be declining, especially in frail patients or claudicants, the superior clinical improvement and amputation-free survival highlighted in several trials, demonstrate the relevance of bypass surgery. More randomized clinical trials are needed to verify the non-inferiority of endovascular treatment options to open surgery, especially when arterial disease extends below the knee.

Distal Bypass Versus Infrageniculate Endovascular Intervention for Chronic Limb-Threatening Ischemia

Chronic limb-threatening ischemia (CLTI) carries a high risk of amputation and warrants urgent intervention. CLTI involving the infrageniculate vessels, in particular, carries a considerably higher risk of major limb amputation. Open surgical bypass is the historical gold standard for the treatment of tibial arterial disease; however, endovascular therapy provides an attractive alternative in this high-risk patient population. In this article, we review the existing literature regarding distal bypass and infrageniculate endovascular intervention in patients with CLTI.

Principal predictors of major adverse limb events in diabetic peripheral artery disease: A narrative review

Background and aims

The increasing prevalence of diabetes mellitus is causing a massive growth of peripheral artery disease incidences, a disabling complication of diabetic atherosclerosis, which leads often to the amputation of the affected limb. Critical limb ischemia is the terminal disease stage, which requires a prompt intervention to relieve pain and save limbs. However, patients undergoing revascularization often suffer from cardiovascular, cerebrovascular and major adverse limb events with poor outcomes. Furthermore, the same procedure performed in apparently similar patients has various outcomes and lack of an outcome predictive support causes a high lower limb arterial revascularization rate with disastrous effects for patients. We collected the main risk factors of major adverse limb events in a more readable and immediate format of the topic, to propose an overview of parameters to manage effectively peripheral artery disease patients and to propose basics of a new predictive tool to prevent from disabling vascular complications of the disease.

Methods

Most recent and updated literature about the prevalence of major adverse limb events in peripheral artery disease was reviewed to identify possible main predictors.

Results

In this article, we summarized major risk factors of limb revascularization failure and disabling vascular complications collecting those parameters principally responsible for major adverse limb events, which provides physio-pathological explanation of their role in peripheral artery disease.

Conclusion

We evaluated and listed a panel of possible predictors of MALE (Major Adverse Limb Event) in order to contribute to the development of a predictive score, based on a summary of the main risk factors reported in scientific articles, which could improve the management of peripheral artery disease by preventing vascular accidents.

Jujuboside B Inhibits Neointimal Hyperplasia and Prevents Vascular Smooth Muscle Cell Dedifferentiation, Proliferation, and Migration via Activation of AMPK/PPAR-γ Signaling

The uncontrolled proliferation and migration of vascular smooth muscle cells is a critical step in the pathological process of restenosis caused by vascular intimal hyperplasia. Jujuboside B (JB) is one of the main biologically active ingredients extracted from the seeds of Zizyphus jujuba (SZJ), which has the properties of anti-platelet aggregation and reducing vascular tension. However, its effects on restenosis after vascular intervention caused by VSMCs proliferation and migration remain still unknown. Herein, we present novel data showing that JB treatment could significantly reduce the neointimal hyperplasia of balloon-damaged blood vessels in Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats. In cultured VSMCs, JB pretreatment significantly reduced cell dedifferentiation, proliferation, and migration induced by platelet-derived growth factor-BB (PDGF-BB). JB attenuated autophagy and reactive oxygen species (ROS) production stimulated by PDGF-BB. Besides, JB promoted the phosphorylation of adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK) and the expression of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ (PPAR-γ). Notably, inhibition of AMPK and PPAR-γ partially reversed the ability of JB to resist the proliferation and migration of VSMCs. Taken as a whole, our findings reveal for the first time the anti-restenosis properties of JB in vivo and in vitro after the endovascular intervention. JB antagonizes PDGF-BB-induced phenotypic switch, proliferation, and migration of vascular smooth muscle cells partly through AMPK/PPAR-γ pathway. These results indicate that JB might be a promising clinical candidate drug against in-stent restenosis, which provides a reference for further research on the prevention and treatment of vascular-related diseases.

Peroneal flap: How to harvest and clinical appraisal for head and neck reconstruction

BACKGROUND

A peroneal flap, the boneless version of fibula flap, is considered as the equivalent of radial forearm flap of the lower leg. Because it is thinner than an anterolateral thigh (ALT) flap, the use of a peroneal flap is a viable option for the repair of soft tissue defects when a thin flap could bring about better functional and cosmetic outcomes. In this article, we describe the details of peroneal flap harvest and present our experience with the use of peroneal flaps for head and neck reconstruction.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Between 1996 and 2017, a total of 265 peroneal flaps were used to reconstruct a variety of head and neck defects. With the same vascular anatomy and slight modifications to the harvesting technique of a fibula flap, a peroneal flap can be harvested within 1-2 h. All medical records were retrospectively reviewed.

RESULTS

A peroneal flap can be harvested as different types of chimeric flaps to fit a variety of head and neck defects. The peroneal flap failure rate was 3.4% and the postoperative complication rate was 12.8%.

CONCLUSION

A peroneal flap might be an alternative option for the reconstruction of head and neck defects.

Predictors of Wound Healing Following Revascularization for Chronic Limb-Threatening Ischemia

OBJECTIVES

After surgical or endovascular revascularization, some ischemic lesions will not heal, while some others will heal at a variable period of time from the intervention, indicating a multifactorial interaction between local and systematic "wound healing-promoting" factors. Our objective was to identify predictors of wound healing following revascularization for chronic limb-threatening ischemia (CLTI).

METHODS

A literature review was performed to identify published research concerning clinical, biochemical, and noninvasive methods as predictors of wound healing time and wound-free period after surgical and endovascular revascularization for CLTI.

RESULTS

Our review indicated that potential predictors included local wound factors, wound depth, patient's comorbidities, medications, smoking and alcohol abuse, poor vessel runoff, and direct versus indirect revascularization. Among the clinical biomarkers, platelet-derived growth factor, transforming growth factor β, basic fibroblast growth factor, tumor necrosis factor α, interleukin (IL) 1, and IL-6 have been proposed as potential predictors. Furthermore, the potential of noninvasive microcirculation assessment to predict proper wound healing has been the topic of extensive investigation. Among the novel methods, transcutaneous measurement of oxygen partial pressure, skin perfusion pressure, oxygen-to-see method, indocyanine green fluorescence imaging, and multispectral optoacoustic tomography have shown promising results.

CONCLUSIONS

The risk factor profile of an ischemic lesion in the lower extremities with a delayed/failed healing response, following a successful revascularization, is not fully clarified. Although many predictors have been assessed so far, further research needs to be done to identify the optimal clinical and biochemical indices and the noninvasive technique assessing the microcirculation that is associated with complete wound healing.