Journal of vascular surgery
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Cost-effectiveness has become an important end point in comparing therapies that may be considered to have clinical equipoise. While controversial, some feel that recent multicenter randomized controlled trials have codified clinical equipoise between carotid endarterectomy (CEA) and carotid artery stenting (CAS). ⋯ Treatment of carotid disease with CAS was 40% more costly than CEA and did not provide better clinical outcomes or a reduction in LOS. These trends were consistent in symptomatic, asymptomatic, urgent, and elective subgroups At present, CAS cannot be considered a cost-effective treatment for carotid disease.
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This study analyzes the experience of a single center using hybrid stainless steel-based endovascular stent graft repair of acute complicated and chronic type B aortic dissection aneurysm, and assesses the proximal and distal aortic morphologic changes of the midterm results. ⋯ Endovascular stainless steel-based stent graft implantation with vascular bypass to gain a sufficient proximal landing zone is feasible for type B aortic dissection and has low early and midterm mortality and morbidity in both the acute and chronic phases. Although early intervention might result in more favorable aortic remodeling with a higher possibility of complete regression and lower risk of late distal erosion, longer-term follow-up still necessitates continuous careful surveillance of the entire aorta, especially the distal condition.
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This study assessed the efficacy of antibiotic-loaded polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) beads in the treatment of lower extremity vascular surgical site infections (VSSIs). ⋯ Antibiotic-loaded PMMA beads may serve as an adjunct in the management of VSSIs and may also expand treatment options for graft preservation or in situ reconstruction, with expected recurrent infection rate approaching 20%. Further experience with this adjunct may help elucidate its role in the management of this complicated problem, including the need for bead exchanges, until perigraft cultures are free of microbes.
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The purpose of this study was to examine the safety of emergency carotid endarterectomy (CEA) in patients with carotid stenosis and unstable neurological symptoms. ⋯ Due to the absence of randomized controlled trials of CEA for neurologically unstable patients, data currently available do not support a policy of emergency CEA in those patients. Our results suggest that a fast protocol, including CT scans and carotid duplex ultrasound scans in neurologically unstable patients, could help identify those that can be safely submitted to emergency CEA.