[Endovascular treatment of femoropopliteal arterial occlusive disease]

Endovascular treatment established itself last years as the first choice to treat femoropopliteal arterial occlusive disease. It is less invasive than the surgical approach. Endovascular techniques and devices evolution made it efficient. Use of retrograde puncture or re-entry catheters allows to recanalize more complex lesions. Vessel preparation of stenotic or occluded target lesion becomes an integral part of the therapy. Thanks to a lot of multicenter randomized controlled trials, drug eluting balloons took major place in the armamentarium we have, despite strong controversies last months about their safety. Conventional self-expandable stents with or without eluting drug, and vasculo-mimetic stents allow to treat very calcified lesions or dissected lesions through the recanalization procedure. This paper aims to review endovascular technical developments achieved last years to treat femoropopliteal arterial occlusive disease.

[Ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm]

Ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm is a cardiovascular emergency associated with a 30 day mortality as high as 70 %. However, recent progresses in the management of these patients have improved the results. From a surgical point of view, endovascular methods such as balloon occlusion and endovascular repair (EVAR) in patients with suitable anatomy are recommended in order to reduce mortality.

[Aortic dissection]

Aortic dissection is a life-threatening condition due to a tear in the intimal layer of the aorta or bleeding within the aortic wall, resulting in the separation of the different layers of the aortic wall. Among the risk factors, age, hypertension, dyslipidemia and genetic disorders of the connective tissue have been identified. A prompt diagnosis and an adequate treatment are important in the management of affected patients. The type of treatment depends on the location and extension of the dissection. Open surgical repair is most commonly used for dissections involving the ascending aorta and the aortic arch, whereas endovascular intervention is indicated for descending aorta dissections that are complicated. In this paper, we will review the epidemiology, and physiopathology of aortic dissection and describe the appropriate management for each type of dissection (open surgery, endovascular or medical treatment).