Early Recurrent Stenosis Research Articles

Percutaneous transluminal angioplasty and stent placement for recurrent carotid artery stenosis.

Treatment consisting of percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA) and stent placement has recently been proposed as an alternative to surgical reexploration in patients with recurrent carotid artery stenosis following endarterectomy. The authors retrospectively reviewed their experience after performing 25 procedures in 21 patients to assess the safety and efficacy of PTA with or without stent placement for carotid artery restenosis. The mean interval between endarterectomy and the endovascular procedures was 57 months (range 8-220 months). Seven arteries in five patients were treated by PTA alone (including bilateral procedures in one patient and repeated angioplasty in the same vessel in another). Early suboptimum results and recurrent stenosis in some of these initial cases prompted the authors to combine PTA with stent placement in the treatment of 18 arteries over the past 3 years. No major periprocedural deficits (neurological or cardiac complications) or death occurred. There was one periprocedural transient neurological event, and in one patient a pseudoaneurysm of the femoral artery (at the access site) required surgical repair. In the 16 patients who each underwent at least 6 months of follow-up review, no neurological events ipsilateral to the treated artery had occurred after a mean follow-up period of 27 months (range 6-57 months). Three of five patients who underwent PTA alone developed significant (>50%) asymptomatic restenoses that required repeated angioplasty in one and PTA with stent placement in two patients. Significant restenosis (55%) was observed in only one of the vessels treated by combined angioplasty and stent placement. Endovascular PTA and stenting of recurrent carotid artery stenosis is both technically feasible and safe and has a satisfactory midterm patency. This procedure can be considered a viable alternative to surgical reexploration in patients with recurrent carotid artery stenosis.

The Role of Patch Angioplasty in Prevention of Early Recurrent Carotid Stenosis

The aim of this study was to determine the effect of primary closure versus patch angioplasty on the incidence of early recurrent stenosis after carotid endarterectomy in the hands of a single surgeon, and to analyze the risk factors associated with early recurrent stenosis after carotid endarterectomy. A retrospective review was performed of 178 consecutive patients who underwent 200 carotid endarterectomies-100 done consecutively with primary closure and 100 done consecutively with patch angioplasty. Of these patients, 126 qualified for analysis by having had at least 18 months of follow-up by serial duplex scanning. Of this group, the first 65 patients underwent 75 routine primary closures, while the last 61 underwent 67 routine patch angioplasties. All patients underwent a completion angiogram at the end of the case. Recurrent stenosis was defined as luminal diameter narrowing >60% on duplex scan. A multifactorial analysis was performed to analyze the effect of age, sex, tobacco use, diabetes, hypertension, peripheral vascular disease, coronary artery disease, and contralateral stenosis on recurrent stenosis. The results of this study showed that in a single surgeon's experience with carotid endarterectomy, varying only the method of closure between primary closure versus patch angioplasty, there is no statistically significant difference in the rate of early restenosis. No difference was noted in the perioperative morbidity and mortality between groups.

Percutaneous transluminal angioplasty and stenting for recurrent carotid artery stenosis

Percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA) and stenting has recently been proposed as an alternative to surgical reexploration in patients with recurrent carotid artery stenosis following endarterectomy. The authors retrospectively reviewed their experience after performing 25 procedures in 21 patients to assess the safety and efficacy of PTA with or without stenting for carotid artery restenosis. The mean interval between endarterectomy and the endovascular procedure was 57 months (range 8-220 months). Seven arteries in five patients were treated by PTA alone (including bilateral procedures in one patient and repeated angioplasty in the same vessel in another). Early suboptimum results and recurrent stenosis in some of these initial cases prompted the authors to combine PTA with stenting in the treatment of 18 arteries over the past 3 years. No major periprocedural deficits (neurological or cardiac complications) or death occurred. There was one periprocedural transient neurological event. A pseudoaneurysm of the femoral artery (at the access site) required surgical repair. In the 16 patients who each underwent at least 6 months of follow-up review, no neurological events ipsilateral to the treated artery had occurred after a mean follow-up period of 27 months (range 6-57 months). Three of five patients who underwent PTA alone developed significant (> 50%) asymptomatic restenoses that required repeated angioplasty in one and PTA with stenting in two patients. Significant restenosis (55%) was observed in only one of the vessels treated by combined angioplasty with stenting. Endovascular PTA and stenting of recurrent carotid artery stenosis is both technically feasible and safe and has a satisfactory midterm patency. This procedure can be considered a viable alternative to surgical reexploration in patients with recurrent carotid artery stenosis.

Saphenous vein versus polytetrafluoroethylene carotid patch angioplasty

The optimal material for carotid patch angioplasty after endarterectomy remains uncertain. This study compares the early outcome and recurrent stenosis rates between saphenous vein (SV) and expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (ePTFE) carotid patch angioplasty. The results of 421 consecutive carotid endarterectomies performed over a 72-month period were reviewed. Postoperative complications and restenosis rates, defined as > OR = 60% narrowing measured by color flow duplex, were compared. Patch angioplasty was performed with SV in 287 and with ePTFE in 110 cases. Patients who had undergone primary closure (n = 20) or whose form of closure was unknown (n = 4) were excluded. The mean age of patients and length of follow-up was similar between groups. Women were more likely to be patched with ePTFE than were men (36% versus 23%, P = 0.02). One death occurred in each group (0.3% SV, 0.9% ePTFE, P = 0.47), and four strokes occurred in each group (1.4% SV, 3.6% ePTFE, P = 0.22). Cervical hematomas requiring operative evacuation occurred in five SV closures and in three ePTFE closures (1.7% versus 2.7%, P = 0.69). Vein harvest site complications occurred in 6 patients (2%) who had undergone SV patch angioplasty. Recurrent stenosis occurred in 3 patients with SV closure and in 3 patients with ePTFE closure (1.0% versus 2.7%, P = 0.35). The 60-month restenosis rates by life table analysis were 2.6% +/- 2.1% for SV and 10.7% +/- 7.9% for ePTFE (P = 0.17). The incidence of postoperative complications is similar with SV or ePTFE patch angioplasty; however, vein harvest site complications are avoided with the use of ePTFE. Recurrent stenosis at 5 years occurs infrequently with either SV or ePTFE.

Repair of coarctation of the aorta in neonates and young infants.

In repair of coarctation in neonates or young infants, inadequate removal of ductal tissue, failure to address hypoplasia of the aortic arch, and suture line tension have been reported to be important factors of residual or early recurrent stenosis at the coarctation repair site. In a consecutive series of neonates and young infants with coarctation, who were all operated without delay with extended resection, the clinical outcome regarding the development of restenosis and hypertension was studied. In addition, the resected specimens were investigated regarding the completeness of resection of ductal tissue. Twenty-five consecutive neonates and young infants (median age 22 days, range 5 to 39 days) who underwent surgical correction of coarctation were reviewed; the resected specimens were examined histologically to document the extent of ductal tissue in the aortic wall. Fifteen patients had a preductal coarctation with associated cardiovascular anomalies including a hypoplastic aortic arch (n = 11). The remaining 10 patients had a paraductal coarctation without associated intracardiac anomalies. In all patients, the isthmus was bypassed and an end-to-side anastomosis was constructed between the descending aorta and the undersurface of the proximal aortic arch (n = 13) or the distal ascending aorta (n = 12). In 13 patients without marked hypoplasia of the aortic arch, the coarctation repair was performed through a left thoracotomy. In the remaining 12 patients, the coarctation was repaired through a median sternotomy with CPB and hypothermic circulatory arrest, on the basis of an associated hypoplastic aortic arch (n = 4), hypoplastic aortic arch with intracardiac anomalies (n = 7), or a "bovine" innominate artery (n = 1). There was no perioperative or late mortality. At a median follow-up of 15 months, 1 patient (4%) developed a recurrent stenosis at the coarctation repair site; in the remaining 24 patients, echocardiography showed a widely patent anastomosis with no evidence of a hemodynamically significant gradient. None of the patients had hypertension. Histologic examination of the resected specimens demonstrated the presence of ductal tissue in the descending aorta with maximal extension into its lateral wall (mean 5.2 mm). In all specimens of the paraductal subtype, there was also extension of ductal tissue into the lateral wall of tbe isthmus (mean 3.9 mm). We conclude that: (1) in the absence of marked hypoplasia of the proximal aortic arch, coarctation can be repaired with low mortality and morbidity via a left thoracotomy; (2) in the presence of marked hypoplasia of the proximal aortic arch and/or if associated intracardiac defects also need to be repaired, we advocate repair of the coarctation and associated defects through a median sternotomy with circulatory arrest; (3) in view of the absence of postoperative hypertension in this series, early repair of aortic coarctation is recommended; and (4) because ductal tissue may extend not only into the descending aorta but also into the isthmus, complete excision of the coarctation and bypass of the isthmus are valuable techniques to avoid secondary constriction of the aorta by ductal tissue.

Relation of plasma lipid and apoprotein levels to progressive intimal hyperplasia after arterial endarterectomy.

To examine the relation of plasma lipoproteins to the proliferative response after arterial injury in humans, we examined the plasma lipid, lipoprotein, and apoprotein levels of 20 patients with early recurrent stenosis caused by intimal hyperplasia after carotid endarterectomy. These were compared with 20 controls who had no evidence of recurrent stenosis by duplex ultrasound scanning. By univariate analysis, the reoperated patients had higher levels of plasma cholesterol (251 versus 225 mg/dl, p less than 0.05), total triglycerides (173 versus 105 mg/dl, p less than 0.03), and low density lipoprotein (LDL) apoprotein B (99.8 versus 77.2 mg/dl, p less than 0.003). The ratio of cholesterol to apoprotein B in LDL was lower in patients with restenosis (p less than 0.04), suggesting LDL of smaller diameter. High density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol level was reduced (45 versus 55 mg/dl, p less than 0.01) in patients with restenosis. With statistical adjustment for the correlations between these variables by multivariate analysis, both LDL apoprotein B and HDL cholesterol were independent predictors of the risk of restenosis. Ten patients with restenosis but only two controls had one or two apolipoprotein E4 alleles. Elevated lipid levels usually associated with an increased risk of atherosclerosis may predispose patients to an increased incidence of intimal hyperplasia after endarterectomy.

Biosynthetic Patch in Carotid Angioplasty

Since early embolic events and recurrent stenosis are, after intraoperative ischemia, the main problems of carotid endarterectomy (CEA), technical im provements that may reduce the incidence of these feared complications are required. The causes of recurrent carotid stenosis may be related to progression of the atherosclerotic disease, to myointimal hyperplasia at the site of endar terectomy, or to technical mistakes during intervention. The choice of patching material seems to be important in preventing late complications. The authors present their original experience with a biosynthetic ovine patch in carotid surgery. In the period from January, 1988, to June, 1989, 211 carotid endarterectomies were performed for atherosclerotic disease at the carotid bi furcation in 176 patients. A primary closure of the carotid arteriotomy was performed in 82 cases and a patch angioplasty was employed in 129. As the material employed in the patch angioplasty, the authors used the biosynthetic ovine patch in 30 cases. No deaths and no permanent neurologic deficits were registered in this series during the awakening and during the postoperative care. One patient died one month after the surgical procedure because of myocardial infarction without neurologic symptoms. These patients were admitted to the prospective study for the evaluation of the carotid that was operated on. The study was performed with clinical and instrumental examinations (duplex scanner). Each patient was seen at months 1, 3, 6, and 12 after surgery. All the patients except 3 had a twelve-month follow-up; by echo tomography a case of nonhemodynamic restenosis was detected in an asymptomatic patient six months after CEA. The authors' preliminary experience with this biosynthetic graft as patching material has been satisfactory. They conclude that this biosynthetic graft, be cause of its handling and particularly its healing characteristics, can be consid ered as a graft material for patching at the carotid level.

Carotid eversion endarterectomy revisited

Carotid eversion endarterectomy appears to be a safe and anatomically acceptable alternative to the standard carotid bifurcation endarterectomy, as evidenced by the absence of permanent neurologic morbidity and mortality in 98 operations. Preliminary clinical, angiographic, and noninvasive laboratory parameters suggest that there is a significant reduction of both residual technical defects and early recurrent stenosis. Specifically, no perioperative thrombosis or early restenosis was encountered in the 98 endarterectomies. Furthermore, only two technical defects have been noted, and one of these occurred in one patient who required a longitudinal arteriotomy and attendant suture line when the common carotid artery was transected too proximally and the eversion maneuver could not be accomplished. Serial long-term clinical and noninvasive laboratory follow-up evaluation, in addition to indicated postoperative angiography, will continue in an effort to assess the durability of a technical approach to carotid endarterectomy that may minimize residual defects and early restenosis.

Interposition of a Saphenous Vein Graft for Early Recurrent Carotid Sten osis

The main cause of recurrent stenosis within 24 months of carotid endarterectomy is myointimal hyperplasia. In these cases, reoperation is technically difficult because there is no true plane of dissection between the recurrent plaque and the remaining vessel wall. The authors present two cases of early recurrent stenosis after carotid endarterectomy, both of which were successfully treated by an interposed saphenous vein graft. In the first case, angiography suggested that the recurrent stenosis was due to atherosclerosis. In the second case, however, myointimal hyperplasia was suspected to be the cause, and this was confirmed by histological examination of the surgical specimen. The authors' experience indicates that anastomosis with an interposed saphenous vein graft is a reliably effective treatment for early recurrent carotid stenosis.

Residual lesions and early recurrent stenosis after carotid endarterectomy: A serial follow-up study with duplex scanning and intravenous digital subtraction angiography

In 109 internal carotid endarterectomies a complete serial follow-up study with ultrasonic duplex scanning was performed at 3, 6, and 12 months after operation. A duplex scan was also performed 2 years postoperatively in 75 cases. Moreover, the state of the endarterectomized carotid bifurcations was documented by intravenous digital subtraction angiography during hospitalization and at 12 months. At 3, 6, 12, and 24 months after operation the rate of significant recurrent stenosis was 6%, 12%, 6%, and 8%, respectively. Approximately half of the arteries with a significant stenosis at 1 year already demonstrated this lesion with intravenous digital subtraction angiography performed 1 week after operation. Persistent significant recurrent stenosis in the remaining arteries was probably the result of excessive myointimal proliferation. This occurred with a higher frequency in women (14.8%) than in men (4.1%). The greater number of the arteries with minimally or mildly disturbed spectral waveforms 3 months after endarterectomy spontaneously normalized or remained stable during the follow-up period. On the other hand, 40% of the arteries with a significant stenosis (diameter reduction of 50% or more) at the three-month control follow-up period increased to a more severe degree of stenosis during the first postoperative year. Most of the operated arteries did not significantly change during the second year.

The Peripheral vascular system and its reactions in scurvy: An experimental study: Lee, R. E., and Lee, N. Z.: Am. J. Physiol. 149:465 (May), 1947

To review technical and 180-day clinical outcomes when stent grafts were used to treat dysfunctional arteriovenous (AV) hemodialysis access circuits.The FLUENCY Plus Stent Graft (Bard Peripheral Vascular, Tempe, Arizona) was used to salvage percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA) technical failures and complications in AV access circuits over 2 years. There were 106 patients treated with 138 stent grafts. Indications for stent graft use included residual stenosis after PTA (n = 81), extravasation after PTA (n = 22), early recurrent stenosis (n = 14), pseudoaneurysms (n = 4), and “other” (n = 4). Data were retrospectively analyzed for complications and outcomes.Technical success was achieved in all patients, and clinical success was achieved in 104 (98%) of 106 patients. At 180 days, postintervention primary patency (PIPP) was 47%, and postintervention secondary patency (PISP) was 79%. PIPP was 62% for autogenous fistulas (AVFs) and 35% for prosthetic grafts (AVGs) (P = .010). The 180-day PIPP for stent grafts 9–10 mm in diameter was 63% versus 38% for stent grafts 6–8 mm in diameter (P = .012). Implants that did not cross the elbow had a 180-day PIPP of 47% compared with 25% for implants across the elbow (P = .032). Technical complications were periprocedure AVG thromboses (n = 2), intraprocedural stent graft dislodgment (n = 1), venospasm (n = 2), and contrast agent–related hives (n = 1). One patient returned at 2 months with an infected AVG and stent graft in the outflow vein.The FLUENCY Plus Stent Graft was effective for maintenance of hemodialysis access circuit patency and was comparable or better than historical outcomes for PTA and bare stents. Factors that favored improved patency included larger diameter devices, use in AVFs, and avoiding placement across the elbow joint.