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Biomedical subjects

F J Veith

Publications and source records attributed to F J Veith.

At least 361 records · Page 20Linked to original sources

Comparison of expanded polytetrafluroethylene and autologous saphenous vein grafts in high risk arterial reconstructions for limb salvage.

Polytetrafluoroethylene bypasses were used in a series of 56 reconstructions, to the popliteal artery in 45 instances or below in 11 instances. These were performed in high risk situations in patients who usually did not have a suitable saphenous vein. Autologous saphenous vein bypass grafts were performed in a comparable series of 56 high risk situations. The polytetrafluoroethylene reconstruction was patent at four to 14 months in 43 of 45 patients having femoropopliteal bypasses, with limb salvage in 39 of the 45. The saphenous vein bypass was patent at eight to 14 months in 39 of 45 patients having femoropopliteal reconstructions, with limb salvage in 36 of the 45. Distal--small vessel--bypass patency rates were similar for reconstructions with polytetrafluoroethylene and saphenous vein. No increase in the number of deaths or complications was observed in the polytetrafluoroethylene group, rather, a general reduction was noted in the operating time and in the incidence of wound complications. These results justify the continued use of polytetrafluoroethylene grafts in patients without saphenous veins who require arterial reconstructions of the lower extremity for limb salvage. The exact place of polytetrafluorethylene grafts in reconstructive surgery of arteries in the lower extremity awaits definition based upon longer periods of observation.

Blood Vessel Prosthesis↗

New approaches to limb salvage by extended extra-anatomic bypasses and prosthetic reconstructions to foot arteries.

Because our femoropopliteal reconstructions with expanded polytetrafluorethylene (PTFE) and saphenous vein have comparable patency rates up to 22 months, we used this prosthetic for longer, more complex bypasses for limb salvage. Fourteen axillopopliteal or cross-over axillopopliteal bypasses were performed largely because groin infection or deep femoral artery disease precluded standard procedures; 12 are patent up to 14 months. Five patients required a bypass from one femoral artery to an opposite leg artery; four are patent up to 17 months. Because of progressive necrosis, eight patients required a secondary extension from a femoropopliteal bypass to a distal artery; five are patent up to 12 months. Three patients required extra-anatomic bypass for leg or popliteal space infections; all achieved limb salvage up to 12 months. Twenty patients without other suitable proximal arteries required a bypass to the dorsalis pedis or anterior tibial artery at the ankle; 10 are patent up to 14 months. Eleven patients required posterior tibial bypass at or below the ankle; seven are patent up to 18 months. One postoperative death followed these 61 procedures. Thus these operaions with long PTFE grafts that cross multiple joints can salvage limbs for important periods of time with low risk.

Aged↗

Brain death. I. A status report of medical and ethical considerations.

Use of neurologic criteria to pronounce death, although accepted by many, has caused controversy among physicians, lawyers, legislators, philosophers, and theologians. The present work attempts to resolve this by accomplishing four objectives. (1) It summarizes scientific information that establishes the ability to determine the state of brain death with certainty on the basis of presently available clinical and laboratory criteria. (2) It shows that the concept of brain death is in accord with secular philosophy and the three major Western religions. (3) It documents the need for legislative recognition that death may be pronounced on the basis of neurologic criteria. (4) It reviews the present status of judicial and statutory law relating to the determination of death in the United States.

Brain Death↗

Dextran 40-induced coagulopathy confused with von Willebrand disease.

In a patient who had undergone reconstructive surgery on the subclavian artery and was treated postoperatively with aspirin and dextran 40, a bleeding diathesis developed within 24 hours. This was at first thought to be von Willebrand disease, since the bleeding time was longer than ten minutes; the factor VIII level, 28%; and the activated partial thromboplastin time, 50 seconds (normal 30 to 38). The patient's defect responded to discontinuance of the low-molecular-weight, dextran and aspirin therapy and administration of a cryoprecipitate. Later studies of the coagulation mechanism up to two and one-half months were entirely normal. The postoperative defect therefore was assumed to have been the result of the administration of dextran and aspirin. It is possible that in a similar future case, discontinuance of dextran infusion and administration of a single bolus of 12 bags of cryoprecipitate may be adequate treatment.

Blood Coagulation Disorders↗

Restoration of bronchial artery circulation after canine lung allotransplantation.

To evaluate the re-establishment of the bronchial circulation in lung transplantation, we studied 10 immunosuppressed dogs up to 14 weeks after left lung allografting. Selective in vivo bronchial arteriograms were performed repetitively via the transfemoral route. In the early postoperative period, no fillinf og vessels distal of the bronchial anastomosis could be shown. After 12 days, however, continuity of the bronchial arteries across the anastomosis was present, and dye-filled ramifications of these vessels were visualized on the secondary and tertiary bronchi. Reconstitution of the bronchial circulation was also confirmed by postmortem studies after injecting the isolated descending thorasis aorta with colored radiopaque material (microfil). The bronchial mucosa at autopsy was examined microscopically. There was no correlation between its viability and bronchial artery regeneration. Although early ischemia of the transplant bronchus may be after a factor in the bronchial complcations that follow lung transplantation, the present study indicates that this ischemia is not due to failure of bronchial artery regeneration.

Animals↗

Initial results from an agressive roentgenological and surgical approach to acute mesenteric ischemia.

The 70% to 80% mortality rate of patients with acute mesenteric ischemia (AMI) has remained unchanged over the past 40 years. We report here the initial results using an aggressive approach to this problem. This included the earlier and more liberal use of angiography in patients at risk and the intra-arterial infusion of papaverine for the relief of superior mesenteric artery (SMA) vasoconstriction in both nonocclusive and occlusive forms of AMI. Of the first 50 patients managed by this approach, 35 (70%) had AMI demonstrated by SMA angiography, Nineteen (54%) of these 35 patients survived, including nine of 15 patients with nonocclusive mesenteric ischemia, seven of 16 with SMA embolus, two of three patients with SMA thrombosis, and the one patient with mesenteric venous thrombosis. Seventeen of the 19 survivors lost no bowel or had excision of less than 3 feet of small intestine.

Acute Disease↗

The value of scintiangiography in arterial disease.

Arterial visualization using the gamma camera was achieved by peripheral intravenous injection of technetium pertechnetate Tc 99m 253 times in 200 patients. This technique, which successfully images the arterial tree to the level of the wrist and ankle, was validated by blind comparison of the scintiangiograms with contrast arteriograms or surgical findings or both in 93 studies. Although scintiangiography has less resolution than contrast arteriography, it provides quantitative and other important supplementary information in the diagnosis and management of patients with arterial disease. Scintiangiography has accurately diagnosed arterial occlusions (atherosclerotic, traumatic, and embolic), true and false aneurysms, and arterial stenoses. Patients sustaining trauma to the extremities may be evaluated by scintiangiography as a screening technique. Postoperatively, scintiangiography has replaced contrast arteriography for assessing patency of grafts and completeness of thromboembolectomy and for the long-term follow-up of these patients.

Angiography↗

Isotope angiography: technique, validation and value in the assessment of arterial reconstruction.

Isotope angiography performed by intravenous injection of technetium 99m pertechnetate has been demonstrated to be of value in the diagnosis and management of a variety of disorders of the large arteries. An improved technique of isotope angiography is described and the technique validated (53 cases) in normal and diseased arteries by correlating it with conventional contrast arteriography and/or operative findings. Peripheral arteries as far distal as the wrist or mid-calf have been accurately visualized and quantitation of isotope arrival times and total isotope activity in different parts of the arterial tree has provided a means of evaluating the hemodynamic significance of stenosing lesions. Thirty-nine arterial reconstructions were studied by this technique. Seven of 27 (26%) clinically patent arterial reconstructions were found to be harboring significant and potentially dangerous imperfections which were clinically unsuspected. Nine of 12 (75%) arterial reconstructions thought clinically to be occluded were demonstrated to be patent, obviating the need for invasive contrast arteriography. Isotope angiography may be used with no risk for the immediate postoperative and long-term evaluation of arterial reconstructions. Only those patients with abnormalities identified on isotope angiography need have conventional contrast arteriography for further delineation of the abnormality so that it may be repaired before it causes failure of the reconstruction.

Aneurysm↗

Transbronchial biopsy for the diagnosis of lung transplant rejection. Comparison with needle and open-lung biopsy techniques in canine lung allografts.

The accurate diagnosis of lung transplant rejection requires histologic examination of the grafted lung. Because transbronchial lung biopsy has been advocated as an effective diagnostic procedure for a variety of lung diseases, it was elected to assess this technique in rejecting transplanted lungs. Twenty-two dogs received allografts and underwent simultaneous lung biopsy by 3 techniques when signs of rejection occurred. Open lung biopsy was diagnostic of rejection in all instances. Transthoracic needle biopsy correlated with the open biopsy in 59 per cent of the cases. No specimen obtained by transbronchial lung biopsy provided sufficient material to permit fulfillment of the strict histologic criteria needed to diagnose allograft rejection. Although transbronchial lung biopsy is successful in many pulmonary infiltrative processes, it appears to be inadequate for the diagnosis of lung allograft rejection.

Animals↗

Celiac artery aneurysmectomy: case report with review of the literature.

A case of celiac trunk aneurysm treated by excision and direct reanastomosis with restoration of arterial continuity, and a description of a new technique for selective visualization of the celiac artery are reported. A review of the literature with tabulation of all surgically treated cases is included. Significance of hepatic artery flow restoration is emphasized.

Aneurysm↗

Effective preservation and transportation of lung transplants.

To evaluate a system for preserving and transporting lungs before transplantation, we removed the left lungs of 37 dogs, flushed them with a hypertonic solution having an electrolyte composition resembling intracellular fluid, and immersed them at 4 degrees C. for 7 to 24 hours. Some lungs were maintained at exactly 4 degrees C. during transport by means of a mixture of solid and liquid l-hexadecene. The lungs were allografted into immunosuppressed dogs whose right pulmonary artery was immediately ligated. Twelve recipients (32 per cent) survived 5 days or more solely on the function of the preserved lung. Four survived 10, 19, 40, and 40 days with lungs that had been preserved for 7 to 21 hours. Survival of recipients of preserved lungs (5 +/- 2 days) was equivalent to that of 75 comparably immunosuppressed recipients of nonpreserved allografts (6 +/- 1 days). One group of 10 dogs receiving lungs flushed against outflow resistance survived 12 +/- 5 days. In recipients of preserved allografts, arterial oxygen tensions remained in the normal range up to 5 weeks after transplantation, and radiographic infiltrates in the transplant were no greater than those present in recipients of nonpreserved transplants. Thus lungs transported and preserved up to 21 hours can provide total pulmonary function after transplantation and can function at least as well as nonpreserved transplants. The effectiveness and simplicity of this method are such that it might be considered for use in man.

Animals↗