Vascular
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Case Reports
Klippel-Trénaunay syndrome: treatment of lower extremity pain with a spinal cord stimulator.
A young adult man with Klippel-Trénaunay syndrome presented to our pain management service with complaints of severe lower extremity neuropathic pain (pain scale 8 of 10 on the left and 4 of 10 on the right). The pain in his left leg was so severe that he wanted to undergo a left lower extremity amputation. The patient declined chronic use of narcotic medications for pain relief, believing that this would interfere with his educational and lifestyle pursuits. ⋯ At 1 year postimplantation, he was pain free (pain scale 1 of 10 bilaterally) and was able to function normally without narcotic support. We believe this to be the first use of a spinal cord stimulator for lower extremity pain resulting from Klippel-Trénaunay syndrome. We also discuss the clinical evaluation and treatment of a Klippel-Trénaunay syndrome patient with chronic pain.
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Case Reports
Successful treatment of phlegmasia cerulea dolens with combination surgical and catheter-assisted thrombectomy.
Phlegmasia cerulea dolens is a rare condition caused by complete venous occlusion that leads to impaired arterial flow. Prompt diagnosis and treatment initiation are paramount in preventing progression to gangrene, the need for amputation, and possibly the death of the patient. Thrombolysis or surgical thrombectomy, for advanced disease and cases in which anticoagulation is contraindicated, represent the current standard treatment. ⋯ He was discharged from the hospital in stable condition and on follow-up visits had full resolution of symptoms. Ultrasound evaluation showed no residual venous clot. The presented case illustrates how the use of catheter-assisted thrombectomy alleviated the need for a laparotomy and direct caval evacuation of the thrombus and provided a timely and effective treatment of phlegmasia cerulea dolens with impending gangrene.
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Comparative Study
Secondary endovascular and conversion procedures for failed endovascular abdominal aortic aneurysm repair: can we still be optimistic?
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the incidence, etiology, and outcome of secondary endovascular and "open" conversion procedures after failed endovascular abdominal aortic aneurysm repair (EVAR). From January 1997 until December 2005, 625 patients with an infrarenal abdominal aortic aneurysm were treated by elective EVAR, with 98.7% (n = 617) primary EVAR success. The mean follow-up of the 617 patients was 46.7 +/- 11.2 months. ⋯ The aneurysm-related mortality rate in our series was below 1%. Abdominal conversion surgery still carries a high mortality rate, but the overall EVAR-related mortality rate remains low. Early pitfall detection and proper reintervention are crucial to long-term EVAR success.
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Pneumonia is a common postoperative complication, with a mortality of up to 40%. The Post-operative Pneumonia Risk Index (PPRI) was derived from a large cohort of general surgical patients but has not been validated in patients undergoing open abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) repair. The PPRI was applied to patients undergoing elective open AAA repair in a tertiary referral vascular unit. ⋯ At this cutoff, the likelihood ratio for pneumonia was 1.35 (95% confidence interval 1.08-1.62). However, in a multivariate analysis, only weight loss in excess of 10% over the preceding 6 months was an independent predictor of postoperative pneumonia. Although the PPRI is of some value in identifying high-risk patients undergoing AAA repair, weight loss alone may be predictive, allowing targeted preventive measures in aneurysm patients at increased risk.
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Review Case Reports
Diagnosis and management of traumatic pseudoaneurysm of the carotid artery: case report and review of the literature.
Injury to the carotid artery can occur in the setting of blunt and penetrating trauma. Such injury can result in pseudoaneurysm formation. We present a case of posttraumatic common carotid pseudoaneurysm (PTCP) that was diagnosed and treated 2 months after a motor vehicle accident and review the literature on the presentation, diagnosis, and management of PTCP.