Surgical Strategy in Bouveret's Syndrome: Report of a Case With One-Stage Surgery

Bouveret's syndrome is a rare condition caused by a gallstone that impacts the duodenum via a cholecystoduodenal fistula and obstructs the gastric outlet. Despite its high mortality rate, the treatment strategy for Bouveret's syndrome is debatable and frequently challenging. The main issue is whether cholecystectomy and fistula repair following stone extraction should be performed concurrently with one-stage surgery. We present a case of Bouveret's syndrome that was treated with one-stage surgery using a bailout procedure.

Bailout procedure in obstructed supracardiac total anomalous pulmonary vein drainage

Total anomalous pulmonary venous drainage is a rare and diverse anomaly, accounting for 1% to 3% of patients with congenital heart disease. Newborns with diagnosis of an obstructed total anomalous pulmonary venous dainage are extremely ill soon after birth and often present with severe cyanosis, pulmonary hypertension and low cardiac output requiring urgent surgical intervention. Transcatheter palliative stenting of the obstructive vertical vein can be an acceptable alternative as a bailout intervention before complete surgical correction is undertaken. This report of two cases highlights the feasibility, safety and effectiveness of the interventional palliative procedure and confirms that this technique can be an acceptable and attractive bridge in the algorithm of medical decisions during the evaluation of these critical patients.

Rescue baroreflex activation therapy after Stanford B aortic dissection due to therapy-refractory hypertension

Clinical trials have demonstrated significant and durable reduction in arterial pressure from baroreflex activation therapy (BAT) in patients with resistant arterial hypertension. There is a lack of data, however, concerning the use of BAT in a rescue approach during therapy-refractory hypertensive crisis resulting in life-threatening end-organ damage. Here, we describe the first case in which BAT was applied as a rescue procedure in an intensive care setting after ineffective maximum medical treatment. A 34-year-old male patient presented with Stanford B aortic dissection and hypertensive crisis. The dissection membrane extended from the left subclavian artery down to the right common iliac artery, resulting in a total arterial occlusion of the right leg. After emergency thoracic endovascular aortic repair and femorofemoral crossover bypass, the patient developed a compartment syndrome of the right lower limb, ultimately leading to amputation of the right leg above the knee. Even under deep sedation recurrent hypertensive crises of up to 220 mm Hg occurred that could not be controlled by eight antihypertensive drugs of different classes. Screening for secondary hypertension was negative. Eventually, rescue implantation of right-sided BAT was performed as a bailout procedure, followed by immediate activation of the device. After a hospital stay of a total of 8 weeks, the patient was discharged 2 weeks after BAT initiation with satisfactory blood pressure levels. After 1-year follow-up, the patient has not had a hypertensive crisis since the onset of BAT and is currently on fourfold oral antihypertensive therapy. The previously described bailout procedures for the treatment of life-threatening hypertensive conditions that are refractory to drug treatment have mainly comprised the interventional denervation of renal arteries. The utilization of BAT is new in this emergency context and showed a significant, immediate, and sustained reduction of blood pressure levels after activation. To our knowledge, we report the first case of an immediate activation of a barostim while the device is usually not activated before 2 to 4 weeks after implantation to allow time for the surgical site to heal. During the follow-up period, the healing process was not impaired, and a significant, immediate, and sustained reduction of blood pressure levels after activation could be observed. This treatment option offers maximum adherence to antihypertensive therapy to avoid future cardiovascular end-organ damage and possibly reduce antihypertensive medication and undesirable side effects.