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Impact of immediate cerebral angiography for in-hospital cerebral thromboembolism after cardiovascular surgery.

OBJECTIVES: Postoperative stroke remains a serious problem in cardiovascular surgery. We studied the role of cerebral angiography in postcardiotomy stroke. METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed 5 in-hospital patients with stroke due to cerebral thromboembolism after cardiovascular surgery. RESULTS: The incidence of in-hospital cerebral thromboembolism was 0.5%, involving 5 patients among 913 adults undergoing cardiovascular operations. In-hospital cerebral thromboembolism occurred 3 to 9 days (average: 7 +/- 2 days) after surgery. Causes of cerebral thromboembolism were chronic atrial fibrillation in 1, transient atrial fibrillation in 2, artificial valve in 1, and intracranial arterial stenosis in 1. Immediate cerebral angiography, after exclusion of intracranial hemorrhage and complete cerebral infarction by computed tomography, revealed cerebral embolism in 3 and cerebral thrombosis in 2 with occlusion or stenosis of intracranial arteries. Local intraarterial administration of a thrombolytic agent was done in the 3 patients with cerebral embolism and occluded arteries were recanalized. Fibrinolysis was not done in 2 because of recanalized arteries or sufficient peripheral blood supply through collateral feeders. No patients exhibited rebleeding into the pericardial space or wound bleeding. All patients survived with moderate or full functional recovery. CONCLUSION: Immediate cerebral angiography with/without local thrombolysis may improve functional outcome and survival in patients with postcardiotomy cerebral thromboembolism.

Aged↗

[Therapy of acute myocardial infarct--primary PTCA or thrombolysis?].

Since reperfusion of the infarct-related coronary artery has been established as a mainstay in the treatment of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) mechanical recanalization by direct angioplasty has been used as an alternative to the standard treatment with thrombolysis. Direct PTCA is more efficient than thrombolysis in terms of reperfusion rates, whereas thrombolysis is more readily available. Thrombolysis reduces mortality from AMI by approximately 25%. The clinical efficacy is strongly time-dependent, and treatment within the first hour of AMI improves survival by nearly 50% by preventing transmural infarction in a significant proportion of the patients. The disadvantage of thrombolysis is its limited efficacy in terms of rapid, complete and sustained patency of the infarct vessel yielding optimal results in only 50% of the patients. Direct PTCA is generally agreed to be more efficient to recanalize the infarct vessel, but its clinical advantage remains controversial. The first randomized studies of direct PTCA in AMI from highly specialized centers in selected patients reported success rates of coronary reperfusion up to 97% resulting in a trend to less death and reinfarction, but the differences were significant only in a metaanalysis of these small studies. The real world of direct PTCA has been depicted by a large registry in Germany of the Arbeitsgemeinschaft Leitender Kardiologischer Krankenhausärzte (ALKK) now including more than 4,000 direct PTCA-procedures since 1994. In this registry, the success rate of direct PTCA was 87% as defined by a final TIMI-grade 3 perfusion of the infarct vessel which is close to the data of the MITI-registry and the GUSTO IIb study. Failed PTCA was associated with an exceptionally high mortality rate of 36% confirming earlier observational reports. The non-randomized comparison of thrombolysis and direct PTCA in the MITI-registry showed no differene in survival or reinfarction rates, and the randomized GUSTO IIb substudy of direct PTCA versus front-loaded alteplase showed a small advantage in death and reinfarction rates at 30 days which dissipated over time leaving no significant clinical advantage of direct PTCA over thrombolysis at 6 months. Thus, in myocardial infarction in general the advantage of direct PTCA over thrombolysis is at best minimal. The reason is very probably the longer time lag until the procedure is started, the lower success rate as compared to the first reports of some specialized centers, and the clearly negative impact of failed PTCA on survival. Moreover, the immediate success of direct PTCA seems to be overestimated by the operator as demonstrated by comparison of central and local estimates of the TIMI flow rates in GUSTO IIb. Improvements of direct PTCA in AMI might be possible by coronary stenting which has markedly increased to more than 60% during the last year in the ALKK-registry. This was accompanied by a slight decrease in death and reinfarction rates. Further improvements can be expected from GP IIb/IIIa platelet antagonists which are under clinical investigation. It has been claimed, that in cardiogenic shock direct PTCA is more effective than thrombolysis. This hypothesis is based on comparison of failed versus successful PTCA-attempts, but this comparison is not valid since failed procedures clearly increase mortality. In the GUSTO-1 study patients with cardiogenic shock had lower mortality with than without an early coronary angiogram. This survival advantage, however, was independent of revascularization since only half of the patients with an early angiogram had PTCA. The same was observed in the International Shock Registry, reflecting significant selection bias in that patients in relatively better condition will be taken to the cathlab whereas apparently hopeless cases will not. In the ALKK-registry half of the patients in cardiogenic shock died after direct PTCA casting doubt on the presumed high clinical efficacy of this strategy. (ABST

Angioplasty, Balloon, Coronary↗

Limitations of spontaneous reperfusion and conventional medical therapy to afford myocardial protection through antecedent angina pectoris in acute myocardial infarction.

Despite the cardioprotective effect of rapid coronary reperfusion, the effects of spontaneous recanalization on myocardial viability and metabolism are unknown. We studied whether preinfarction angina affords cardioprotection when spontaneous coronary reperfusion occurred in acute infarct patients. Myocardial tomographies with thallium and I-123-labeled-beta-methyl-p-iodophenyl penta-decanoic acid (BMIPP) were performed in 27 acute myocardial infarct patients treated medically: 15 patients had preexisting angina before infarction (group A) and 12 did not (group B). Thallium and BMIPP abnormalities and regional function were quantified by a polar map and contrast ventriculography, respectively. There was no significant difference between thallium and BMIPP in the severity index in groups A and B (89 +/- 97 vs. 85 +/- 68, 97 +/- 28 vs. 95 +/- 27, respectively), and no significant difference between the groups in the thallium or BMIPP severity index. The ratio of the thallium severity index to that of BMIPP and the regional wall-motion abnormality index were identical in groups A and B. Both patient groups were divided into 2 subgroups based on the presence or absence of spontaneous coronary reperfusion: subgroups A1 and A2, and subgroups B1 and B2, respectively. There were no significant differences among the 4 subgroups in severity indexes for both tracers, the thallium/BMIPP ratio, or the asynergy score. The BMIPP severity index correlated significantly with that of thallium in all subgroups, but no significant difference between the regression lines was found. It is therefore unlikely that spontaneous coronary recanalization affords beneficial effects through preservation of myocardial viability in an ischemia-related zone, suggesting that the cardioprotective effect of preinfarction angina is a limited phenomenon in patients undergoing rapid coronary reperfusion.

Adult↗

Thromboangiitis obliterans: classic and new morphological features.

The clinical and pathological concept of thromboangiitis obliterans (TAO, Buerger's disease) is still controversial. While the clinical criteria of TAO are relatively well defined, the etiology is unknown and its diagnosis based on pathology is confusing, since there is no consensus on the precise pathological criteria for TAO. To investigate the morphological features that differentiate TAO from arteriosclerosis obliterans (ASO) or thromboembolism, and to clarify the morphological independence of TAO, we studied 94 amputated specimens of lower extremities, including 31 specimens from patients with a clinical diagnosis of TAO and 31 autopsy specimens as control cases. It was revealed that most of the classic morphological features described by Buerger and others are not helpful when considered independently in the differential diagnosis, except for intact internal elastic lamina. In addition, findings of intimal inflammation, intact media and absence of medial calcification were demonstrated to be common in both TAO and thromboembolism. Statistical analysis in the present study, the most comprehensive thus far, showed that novel findings of onion-like-shaped recanalizing vessels in the occluded arteries, adventitial fibrosis without medial fibrosis, swelling of the endothelium of the vasa vasorum and edema beneath the external elastic lamina were characteristic of TAO and would be helpful in a differential diagnosis. When a combination of these morphological features is present, diagnosis of a presumed overlap of TAO and ASO in the same site of the vessel concerned is possible. Furthermore, comparison of statistical evaluations based on morphological features performed in various diagnostic groups implies that the clinical diagnosis of TAO is currently underestimated because the results of the analysis of morphological features of specimens in which TAO was suspected or specimens selected on the basis of a broad and nonspecific definition of TAO were surprisingly similar to the results in strictly defined TAO cases. Our findings suggest that injury and regeneration of minute vessels such as recanalizing vessels and vasa vasorum play a part in the pathogenesis of TAO.

Adult↗

[Interventional therapy of peripheral arterial disease-potentials and limitations].

The technical success rate of endovascular interventions in order to improve perfusion in peripheral arterial disease in the lower extremities has been markedly improved in the last decade due to clinical application of new recanalization techniques like application of hydrophil-coated guide wires, implantation of stents or stent grafts. If the-even long-segment-obstruction can be recanalized, the interventional radiologist is able to open the arterial vessel sufficiently. The excellent immediate results are limited in the long term by recurrent stenoses, which appear in different rates according to the vascular region. Whereas recurrent stenoses have nearly no clinical significance in the aortoiliac vascular segment due to the size of the treated vessels and the excellent flow, there is a significant amount of restenoses in the femoropopliteal segment and, even more, in the tibial arteries. This leads to a different indication of endovascular therapy according to the segment treated. However, in an interdisciplinary consensus we offer primary endovascular therapy for treatment of aortoiliac obstruction to all patients, whereas lesions at the femoral bifurcation are a clear primary indication for open surgical treatment. In the femoropopliteal segment, we choose a primary endovascular procedure with respect to the length of the occlusion, patient's risk factors and comorbidities. Yet, longer obstructions are a clear indication for primary surgical treatment. In cases of infrapopliteal disease, we recommend an endovascular treatment as the initial option due to the reduced invasiveness of the predominantly old and multimorbid patient cohort. Further clinical research for the evaluation of endovascular therapeutic measures in peripheral arterial disease urgently requires outcome studies, which include clinically relevant endpoints to better define the clinical value of endovascular therapy compared to traditional surgical bypass procedures. Until new clinical trials will be published, the Transatlantic Consensus document (TASC) of a variety of vascularly specialized scientific societies seems to be a helpful guideline.

Angiography↗

Radiation exposure to patients undergoing percutaneous coronary interventions: are current reference values too high?

PURPOSE: To determine predictors of patient radiation exposure due to percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI) and to compare our results with the "preliminary reference levels", recently proposed by the European DIMOND research cardiology group: i. e., 75 Gy.cm(2) for dose area kerma product (DAP), 17 min for fluoroscopy time (T(F)), and 1,300 for cinegraphic frames (F). MATERIAL AND METHODS: For 642 PCI-exclusive of the fraction for diagnostic catheterization to avoid statistical confounder effects-we measured total DAP, cinegraphic (DAP(C)) and fluoroscopic (DAP(F)) fractions, the number of cinegraphic frames and runs, and T(F). DAP(C)/F and DAP(F)/s were calculated to indicate the quality of focusing to the region of interest. RESULTS: The mean total patient DAP for elective one-, two-, and three-vessel PCI amounted to 6.7, 11.6, and 19.4 Gy.cm(2), for PCI of focal in-stent restenoses to 4.2 Gy.cm(2), and for excimer laser angioplasty of diffuse in-stent restenoses to 19.4 Gy.cm(2), respectively. Recanalization of chronic occlusions and PCI in acute myocardial infarction occasioned mean levels of 16.0 and 17.3 Gy.cm(2). Implantation of one and > or = two stents during one-vessel PCI significantly increased total mean DAP from a baseline level of 5.7 up to 7.1 and to 13.8 Gy.cm(2). DAP significantly varied according to the various PCI target regions and amounted to 4.0, 4.5, and 5.5 Gy.cm(2) for intermedius, diagonal, and left anterior descending arteries, to 4.9, 5.0, and 7.0 Gy.cm(2) for obtuse marginal, left posterolateral, and circumflex arteries, to 8.3, 9.1, and 9.5 Gy.cm(2) for proximal/mid right coronary segments, posterior descending, and right posterolateral arteries, and to 11.6 Gy.cm(2) for saphenous vein grafts, respectively. CONCLUSION: This study, carried through by consistent use of radiation-reducing techniques, enables a reliable scoring of patient radiation exposure according to complexity and target vessel of the intended PCI. Our 95th percentiles for elective PCI, for recanalizations of chronic occlusions, and for emergency PCI advise reference levels of 22, 32, and 42 Gy.cm(2) for DAP, of 16, 25, and 24 min for T(F), and of 400, 600, and 700 cinegraphic frames, respectively.

Angioplasty, Balloon, Coronary↗

[Diagnosis and therapy of basilar artery occlusion].

In view of the poor prognosis for untreated patients with basilar artery occlusion, rapid delivery of effective treatment has the highest priority. Early recanalization by intra-arterial thrombolysis can improve the outcome in some patients. Apart from this method, specialized centers are increasingly using mechanical devices and glycoprotein IIb/IIIa inhibitors to achieve recanalization. This review focuses on current developments in the diagnosis and treatment of acute basilar artery occlusion.

Cerebral Angiography↗

[Systemic thrombolytic therapy with rt-PA in acute medial territory infarct. Experiences in routine clinical practice].

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Only a few clinical reports about the routine use of intravenous rt-PA for the treatment of acute ischemic stroke have been published. Wether the perfusion of the extracranial parts of the internal carotid artery influences the outcome of the patients is still unknown, because the two major studies about systemic thrombolytic therapy with rt-PA in stroke (ECASS and NINDS) did not formally assess the status of the extracranial vessels. METHODS: 56 Patients were treated with intravenous rt-PA within 6 h of acute ischemic stroke between January 1995 and May 1998. Before and within 24 h after the thrombolytic therapy usually a neurovascular diagnostic with extra- und transcranial Doppler-ultrasound or CT-angiography was performed. Occlusions of the intracranial parts of the internal carotid artery (Carotid-T) were excluded from thrombolytic therapy. The outcome was assessed using the Rankin-scale at least 3 month after the therapy. RESULTS: The average time from stroke onset to administration of treatment was 3.7 h.A parenchymal hemorrhage with clinical deterioration was found in four patients (7.1%). Eight patients died until the follow-up (14.3%), four within 14 days. 39 patients showed a clinical improvement. Outcome and recanalization rate of the medial cerebral artery was not influenced by stenoses or occlusions of the extracranial internal carotid artery. CONCLUSIONS: Routine intravenous use of rt-PA for acute ischemic stroke shows safety comparable to the results of the NINDS study even in 6 h time window. The outcome and recanalization rate depends not on the perfusion of the extracranial parts of the internal carotid artery.

Acute Disease↗

[Interventional radiology in central venous obstructions. Dilatation--stent implantation--thrombolysis].

PURPOSE: Venous congestion of the superior or inferior caval system has to be considered as a medical emergency. The results of various recanalization procedures and their utility are analyzed. PATIENTS AND METHODS: 176 patients with superior and 28 with inferior caval obstruction were treated with Gianturco-Z (n = 39) and Wall Stents (n = 207) respectively. Balloon venoplasty was performed prior to stent implanation. In 27 cases, local thrombolysis with urokinase was employed. RESULTS: Interventional procedures were successful in 198 and without success in 6 patients. In most patients, symptoms were relieved during or early after recanalization. No major complications were found. DISCUSSION: Balloon angioplasty with stent placement and local thrombolysis are successful in the treatment of superior and inferior caval obstruction. Self-expanding Wallstents are superior to Gianturco-Z-stents. Oncologists should be made familiar with this type of treatment.

Adolescent↗

Acute stenting and thromboaspiration in basilar artery occlusions due to embolism from the dominating vertebral artery.

Intra-arterial thrombolysis (IAT) is the only treatment that has demonstrated benefit in patients with acute basilar artery occlusions (ABAO). IAT may be difficult to perform when access to the occluded basilar artery (BA) is prevented by pathology of the vertebral arteries (VA). We report on two patients with ABAO due to embolism from the dominating VA. Catheter navigation through the occluded VA and thromboaspiration enabled access to the BA. Thromboaspiration alone or in addition to IAT resulted in a complete recanalization of the BA and a favorable clinical outcome. A stent was deployed at the site of the stenosis in the VA either prior to or immediately after BA recanalization.

Adult↗

Endovascular therapy for acute thrombotic occlusion of the intracranial artery.

The goal of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of endovascular therapy for acute thrombotic occlusion. Six patients with acute thrombotic occlusion in the middle cerebral or basilar arteries underwent treatment with intra-arterial thrombolysis, followed by assessment of residual stenosis. If residual stenosis was greater than 70%, percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA) was performed in the same session; otherwise, patients were anticoagulated, and PTA was performed several days later. Successful recanalization was achieved in five of six patients. One patient died of massive infarction, because of the failure of recanalization of the M1 segment. At discharge, modified Rankin scale distribution of the patients was: grade 0, one patient; grade 1, one patient; grade 2, two patients; grade 3, one patient; grade 6, one patient. Retreatment was required via PTA or stenting in two patients in which type C stenosis was present. In conclusion, endovascular therapy for acute thrombotic occlusion of an intracranial artery appears to be effective compared to conservative therapy. However, further refinement of the technique is required to prevent various complications, including vessel perforation, dissection, perforating artery occlusion and restenosis.

Aged↗

Single-center experience with TruFill platinum coils for the embolization of cerebral aneurysms.

Endovascular coiling has become a powerful alternative to neurosurgical clipping of cerebral aneurysms. Apart from the Guglielmi Detachable Coil (GDC) (Boston Scientific, Galway, Ireland), there is limited published data about the newer generation of detachable platinum coils, e.g., TruFill (Cordis, Johnson and Johnson, Miami, Fl.). We report our initial clinical experience with the embolization of aneurysms by TruFill coils. Included in this retrospective study were 26 patients (age 55.4+/-14.5 years; 9 male, 17 female) with 28 aneurysms, 21 ruptured and 7 unruptured. All patients were treated exclusively by embolization with TruFill platinum coils. Immediate angiographic and 6-month angiographic follow-up results were documented. Acute clinical outcome was recorded. Of the 28 aneurysms, 16 (57%) were completely occluded by TruFill embolization, 11 (39%) were incompletely occluded with residual necks, and 1 (4%) was partially occluded as residual aneurysm. There were no aneurysmal ruptures during the procedures. Follow-up at 6 months after the procedure was available in 18 patients and 19 aneurysms. Of the 19 aneurysms, 2 of 12 initially completely occluded aneurysms (17%) and 1 of 7 aneurysms with initial residual necks (14%) showed recanalization at the 6-month follow-up. One recanalized aneurysm was subsequently recoiled with consequent residual neck and remained unchanged at the 1-year follow-up. Embolization by TruFill platinum coils has a comparable total aneurysmal occlusion rate to that with GDC. The mid-term reintervention rate is low, and will require verification by future long-term studies.

Cerebral Angiography↗

Reperfusion injury following cerebral ischemia: pathophysiology, MR imaging, and potential therapies.

INTRODUCTION: Restoration of blood flow following ischemic stroke can be achieved by means of thrombolysis or mechanical recanalization. However, for some patients, reperfusion may exacerbate the injury initially caused by ischemia, producing a so-called "cerebral reperfusion injury". Multiple pathological processes are involved in this injury, including leukocyte infiltration, platelet and complement activation, postischemic hyperperfusion, and breakdown of the blood-brain barrier. METHODS/RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can provide extensive information on this process of injury, and may have a role in the future in stratifying patients' risk for reperfusion injury following recanalization. Moreover, different MRI modalities can be used to investigate the various mechanisms of reperfusion injury. Antileukocyte antibodies, brain cooling and conditioned blood reperfusion are potential therapeutic strategies for lessening or eliminating reperfusion injury, and interventionalists may play a role in the future in using some of these therapies in combination with thrombolysis or embolectomy. The present review summarizes the mechanisms of reperfusion injury and focuses on the way each of those mechanisms can be evaluated by different MRI modalities. The potential therapeutic strategies are also discussed.

Brain Ischemia↗

Pathological study of postcoronary arteritis in adolescents and young adults: with reference to the relationship between sequelae of Kawasaki disease and atherosclerosis.

To clarify whether the cardiac sequelae of Kawasaki disease (KD), postcoronary arteritis lesions can become a risk factor for atherosclerosis of the coronary arteries, six autopsy cases of patients older than 15 years of age with coronary arterial lesions caused by arteritis in childhood were examined histologically. Twenty-four arteries were inspected: 10 had no evidence of aneurysm formation, 7 arteries manifested simple dilatation of the lumen, and in 7 arteries there were aneurysms with recanalization. In the group in which there were no aneurysms, "new intimal thickening" was observed in addition to the preexisting intimal thickening which had been caused by arteritis in the acute phase of KD. In the second group with aneurysmal arteries whose lumen remained dilated, thrombotic occlusion occurred in 4 of 6 aneurysms. In addition, advanced atherosclerotic changes (i.e., complicated lesions) were found in a 39-year-old patient. Finally, in the third group of arteries which manifested recanalized lumens after thrombotic occlusion of the aneurysms, new intimal thickening was seen on the internal side and some of them were occluded. The findings in this study suggest that aneurysms present in coronary arteries in individuals with a history of KD constitute a risk factor for atherosclerosis later in life.

Adolescent↗

Predictors of long-term results after treatment of iliac artery obliteration by transluminal angioplasty and stent deployment.

PURPOSE: To investigate initial and long-term success rate after percutaneous treatment of iliac artery occlusion with angioplasty and stent deployment. To investigate the influence of vascular comorbidity, lesion length, stent placement and lesion coverage as possible predictors of outcome. METHODS: Between January 1994 and December 1999, 80 iliac recanalizations were performed on 78 patients, median age 61.1 +/- 11.5 (SD) years. All patients were followed up by clinical examinations, duplex ultrasound and intravenous digital subtraction angiography. Mean follow-up time was 2.0 +/- 1.53 (SD) years. Multivariate Cox regression analysis was used to determine the influence of cofactors on patency. RESULTS: One, 2 and 4 years after recanalization, primary patency was 78.1%, 74.5% and 64.0%; secondary patency was 88.8%, 88.8% and 77.9%, respectively. Patients with shorter occlusions, complete lesion coverage and patent ipsilateral femoral arteries had significantly longer patency rates. Complications included inguinal hematoma (n=1), technical failure (n=3) aortic dissection (n=1), embolic occlusions (n=7), gluteal claudication (n=1) and genital necrosis after subsequent urethral surgery in one patient with contralateral occlusion and ipsilateral overstenting of the internal iliac artery with subsequent stenosis. Complications were of permanent clinical significance in seven of 78 (9%) of the patients. In 17 (22%) cases, percutaneous reintervention was performed with angioplasty in the stent (n=16) or deployment of a new stent (n=1). CONCLUSION: Endoluminal stent placement has its place in an interdisciplinary therapeutic approach as a viable therapeutic alternative to major transabdominal bypass surgery and can be performed with comparable complication rates. Patients with short occlusions, patent femoral arteries, and stents covering the entire occlusion have significant longer patency.

Adult↗

Bilateral leg ischemia due to descending aortic dissection: combined treatment with femoro-femoral cross-over bypass and unilateral aorto-iliac stenting.

We report a case of aorto-iliac occlusion due to descending aortic dissection treated initially with femoro-femoral cross-over bypass and secondarily with unilateral aorto-iliac stenting because of progression of the dissection. A 75-year-old man presented with acute ischemia of the right leg. CT revealed occlusion of the right iliac artery due to descending aortic dissection with a clotted false lumen. Three days after femoro-femoral cross-over bypass, ischemia of both legs developed and angiography demonstrated occlusion of the infrarenal aorta and left common iliac artery. Two overlapping stents were deployed in these vessel segments. Completion angiography confirmed successful recanalization with adequate distal flow and good patency of the cross-over bypass. Peripheral pulses were restored and the patient's symptoms were alleviated. Combined treatment with cross-over bypass and endovascular recanalization may be considered as a viable alternative to open aortic surgery in selected cases of complicated aorto-iliac dissection with bilateral leg ischemia.

Aged↗

Endovascular mechanical thrombectomy of an occluded superior division branch of the left MCA for acute cardioembolic stroke.

Cardiac embolism accounts for a large proportion of ischemic stroke. Revascularization using systemic or intra-arterial thrombolysis is associated with increasing risks of cerebral hemorrhage as time passes from stroke onset. We report successful mechanical thrombectomy from a distal branch of the middle cerebral artery (MCA) using a novel technique. A 72-year old man suffered an acute ischemic stroke from an echocardiographically proven ventricular thrombus due to a recent myocardial infarction. Intraarterial administration of 4 mg rt-PA initiated at 5.7 hours post-ictus failed to recanalize an occluded superior division branch of the left MCA. At 6 hours, symptomatic embolic occlusion persisted. Mechanical extraction of the clot using an Attracter-18 device (Target Therapeutics, Freemont, CA) resulted in immediate recanalization of the MCA branch. Attracter-18 for acute occlusion of MCA branches may be considered in selected patients who fail conventional thrombolysis or are nearing closure of the therapeutic window for use of thrombolytic agents.

Acute Disease↗

Percutaneous endovascular treatment of chronic iliac artery occlusion.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the clinical and radiological long-term results of recanalization of chronic occluded iliac arteries with balloon angioplasty and stent placement. METHODS: Sixty-nine occluded iliac arteries (mean length 8.1 cm; range 4-16 cm) in 67 patients were treated by percutaneous transluminal angioplasty and stent placement. Evaluations included clinical assessment according to Fontaine stages, Doppler examinations with ankle-brachial index (ABI) and bilateral lower extremity arteriograms. Wallstent and Cragg vascular stents were inserted for iliac artery recanalization under local anesthesia. Follow-up lasted 1-83 months (mean 29.5 months). RESULTS: Technical success rate was 97.1% (67 of 69). The mean ABI increased from 0.46 to 0.85 within 30 days after treatment and was 0.83 at the most recent follow-up. Mean hospitalization time was 2 days and major complications included arterial thrombosis (3%), arterial rupture (3%) and distal embolization (1%). During follow-up 6% stenosis and 9% thrombosis of the stents were observed. Clinical improvement occurred in 92% of patients. Primary and secondary patency rates were 75% and 95%, respectively. CONCLUSION: The long-term patency rates and clinical benefits suggest that percutaneous endovascular revascularization with metallic stents is a safe and effective treatment for patients with chronic iliac artery occlusion.

Adult↗