Endovascular embolization of visceral artery aneurysm: a retrospective study

Ruptured Mycotic Aneurysm of the Superior Mesenteric Artery: A Case Report

An infected (mycotic) aneurysm of the visceral arteries is an uncommon entity, which may arise from a secondary infection of a preexisting aneurysm or be due to degeneration from a primary infection. Mycotic aneurysms require prompt recognition and definitive treatment; otherwise, there can be devastating morbidity and mortality. We present the case of a 51-year-old female with HIV and Crohn's disease who presented with subacute abdominal pain, nausea, and vomiting and was found to have an ultimately fatal mycotic aneurysm of the superior mesenteric artery. In addition, we discuss the characteristic imaging features of mycotic aneurysms on computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging.

Modified Appleby procedure for locally advanced pancreatic carcinoma: A primer for the radiologist

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is the most prevalent pancreatic neoplasm accounting for more than 90% of pancreatic malignancies. Surgical resection with adequate lymphadenectomy remains the only available curative strategy for patients with PDAC. Despite improvements in both chemotherapy regimen and surgical care, body/neck PDAC still conveys a poor prognosis because of the vicinity of major vascular structures, including celiac trunk, which favors insidious disease spread at the time of diagnosis. Body/neck PDAC involving the celiac trunk is considered locally advanced PDAC in most guidelines and therefore not eligible for upfront resection. However, a more aggressive surgical approach (i.e., distal pancreatectomy with splenectomy and en-bloc celiac trunk resection [DP-CAR]) was recently proposed to offer hope for cure in selected patients with locally advanced body/neck PDAC responsive to induction therapy at the cost of higher morbidity. The so-called "modified Appleby procedure" is highly demanding and requires optimal preoperative staging as well as appropriate patient preparation for surgery (i.e., preoperative arterial embolization). Herein, we review current evidence regarding DP-CAR indications and outcomes as well as the critical role of diagnostic and interventional radiology in patient preparation before DP-CAR, and early identification and management of DP-CAR complications.

Endovascular and Open Surgical Treatment of Ruptured Splenic Artery Aneurysms: A Case Report and a Systematic Literature Review

BACKGROUND

Ruptured splenic artery aneurysms (r-SAA), although rare, are burdened by high morbidity and mortality, even despite emergent surgical repair. It is suggested that endovascular treatment can achieve reduction in peri-operative death and complication rates, as in other vascular diseases, but evidence of such benefits is still lacking in this particular setting. We report a case of an r-SAA treated by trans-arterial embolization and then converted to open surgery for persistent bleeding, and we provide a systematic review of current results of open and endovascular repair of r-SAAs.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A 50-year-old male presenting in shock for a giant r-SAA underwent emergent coil embolization and recovered hemodynamic stability. On the following day, he underwent laparotomy for evacuation of the huge intraperitoneal hematoma, but residual bleeding was noted from the splenic artery, which was ligated after coil removal, and a splenectomy was performed. A systematic literature review of the reported mortality and complications of r-SAA undergoing open (OSR) or endovascular (EVT) treatment was performed using the main search databases. All primary examples of research published since 1990 were included regardless of sample size. The main outcome measures were mortality and reinterventions. Secondary outcomes were post-operative complications.

RESULTS

We selected 129 studies reporting on 350 patients-185 treated with OSR and 165 with EVT. Hemodynamically unstable patients and ruptures during pregnancy were more frequently treated with open repair. Overall, there were 37 deaths (mortality: 10.6%)-24 in the OSR group and 13 in the EVTr group (mortality: 12.9% and 7.8% respectively, p-value: 0.84). There were 37 reinterventions after failed or complicated endovascular repair -6 treated with endovascular re-embolization and 31 with laparotomy and splenectomy (22.4%); there were 3 (1.6%) reinterventions after open repair. Overall complication rates were 7.3% in the EVT group (n: 12) and 4.2% in the OSR group (n: 7), and did not require reintervention. No significant differences in overall complications or in any specific complication rate were observed between the two groups.

CONCLUSIONS

Current results of r-SAA treatment show equipoise terms of morbidity and mortality between open and endovascular repair; however, in case of hemodynamic instability and rupture during pregnancy, open surgery might still be safer. Moreover, endovascular repair is still burdened by a significantly higher rate of reinterventions, mostly with conversions to open surgery.