Sheathless use of Supera stent minimizes access complications in antegrade femoral puncture: Technical note with case series

Antegrade femoral puncture (AFP) is the preferred strategy to treat lower limb obstructive disease. However, the presence of vascular calcification may be associated with procedure related adverse events, impairing endovascular device strategies. We describe a case series of superficial femoral and popliteal artery treatments by Supera stent implantation using a simple technique to significantly minimize the dimension of the antegrade femoral puncture from 6 to 4 French (Fr). All antegrade femoral punctures, crossing femoro-popliteal lesion and predilation were made with 4 Fr introducer. After preparation the Supera stent was navigated in sheathless fashion via 0.018-inch guidewire. Postdilation and final control were made replacing the 4 Fr introducer via the same guidewire. A good final result was achieved. Patients were discharged early without any complications. This minimally invasive technique in cases of infrainguinal peripheral artery disease could be feasible and effective for minimizing the risk of complications in patients with critical limb ischemia.

Concise Review of the Rationale for Pulmonary Embolism Treatment and Endovascular Device Therapies

: In the ever-changing landscape of device therapy for pulmonary embolism, it is important to understand the rationale behind the ongoing explosion in the development of new device therapies. There needs to be an in-depth understanding of risk stratification in pulmonary embolism and indications for therapy. Selecting the ideal device for a particular pulmonary embolism subset remains elusive and poorly defined. Knowledge of the risks, bene-fits, capabilities, and potential limitations of each device is crucial.

Design and Analysis of a Biodegradable Polycaprolactone Flow Diverting Stent for Brain Aneurysms

The flow diverting stent (FDS) has become a promising endovascular device for the treatment of aneurysms. This research presents a novel biodegradable and non-braided Polycaprolactone (PCL) FDS. The PCL FDS was designed and developed using an in-house fabrication unit and coated on two ends with BaSO4 for angiographic visibility. The mechanical flexibility and quality of FDS surfaces were examined with the UniVert testing machine, scanning electron microscope (SEM), and 3D profilometer. Human umbilical vein endothelial cell (HUVEC) adhesion, proliferation, and cell morphology studies on PCL FDS were performed. The cytotoxicity and NO production by HUVECs with PCL FDS were also conducted. The longitudinal tensile, radial, and bending flexibility were found to be 1.20 ± 0.19 N/mm, 0.56 ± 0.11 N/mm, and 0.34 ± 0.03 N/mm, respectively. The FDS was returned to the original shape and diameter after repeated compression and bending without compromising mechanical integrity. Results also showed that the proliferation and adhesion of HUVECs on the FDS surface increased over time compared to control without FDS. Lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) release and NO production showed that PCL FDS were non-toxic and satisfactory. Cell morphology studies showed that HUVECs were elongated to cover the FD surface and developed an endothelial monolayer. This study is a step forward toward the development and clinical use of biodegradable flow diverting stents for endovascular treatment of the aneurysm.

Nickel hypersensitivity and endovascular devices: a systematic review and meta-analysis

ObjectiveNickel allergy is common; endovascular specialists are often confronted with nickel allergic patients ahead of the implantation of endovascular devices, many of which are nickel-containing. Our aim was to elucidate whether nickel hypersensitivity is significantly associated with worse or adverse outcomes after placement of a nickel-containing endovascular device.MethodsInclusion criteria were: endovascular and transcatheter procedures for coronary, structural heart, neurovascular and peripheral vascular pathology involving nickel-allergic patients. All adverse outcomes were included as defined by included studies. A systematic review and meta-analysis were undertaken using a random-effects model. Searches of MEDLINE and EMBASE were conducted for articles published 1947–2019.Results190 records were identified, 78 articles were included for qualitative synthesis and 15 met criteria for meta-analysis. Patch-test confirmed nickel allergy was associated with an increased risk of adverse outcomes following implantation of a nickel-containing endovascular device (n=14 articles, 1740 patients; OR 2.61, 95% CI 1.41 to 4.85). This finding further was observed in coronary (n=12 articles, 1624 patients; OR 1.94, 95% CI 1.16 to 3.23) and structural heart subgroups (n=2 articles, 83 patients; OR 52.28, 95% CI 1.31 to 2079.14), but not in the neurovascular subgroup (n=1 article, 33 patients; OR 3.04, 95% CI 0.59 to 15.72) or with a patient-reported history of nickel allergy (n=2 articles, 207 patients; OR 2.14, 95% CI 0.23 to 19.70).ConclusionsPatch-tested nickel allergy is associated with an increased risk of adverse outcomes following endovascular device implantation and alternative treatment options should be considered. Specialists faced with patients’ self-reporting nickel allergy should consider proceeding to diagnostic patch-testing.

Endovascular Device Choice and Tools for Recanalization of Medium Vessel Occlusions: Insights From the MeVO FRONTIERS International Survey

Background: Endovascular treatment (EVT) for stroke due to medium vessel occlusion (MeVO) can be technically challenging. Devices and tools are rapidly evolving. We aimed to gain insight into preferences and global perspectives on the usage of endovascular tools in treating MeVOs.Methods: We conducted an international survey with seven scenarios of patients presenting A3, M2/3, M3, M3/4, or P2/3 occlusions. Respondents were asked for their preferred first-line endovascular approach, and whether they felt that the appropriate endovascular tools were available to them. Answers were analyzed by occlusion location and geographical region of practice, using multinomial/binary logistic regression.Results: A total of 263 neurointerventionists provided 1836 responses. The first-line preferences of physicians were evenly distributed among stent-retrievers, combined approaches, and aspiration only (33.2, 29.8, and 26.8%, respectively). A3 occlusions were more often treated with stent-retrievers (RR 1.21, 95% CI: 1.07–1.36), while intra-arterial thrombolysis was more often preferred in M3 (RR 2.47, 95% CI: 1.53–3.98) and M3/4 occlusions (RR 7.71, 95% CI: 4.16–14.28) compared to M2/3 occlusions. Respondents who thought appropriate tools are currently not available more often chose stent retrievers alone (RR 2.07; 95% CI: 1.01–4.24) or intra-arterial thrombolysis (RR 3.35, 95% CI: 1.26–8.42). Physicians who stated that they do not have access to optimal tools opted more often not to treat at all (RR 3.41, 95% CI: 1.11–10.49). Stent-retrievers alone were chosen more often and contact aspiration alone less often as a first-line approach in Europe (RR 2.12, 95% CI: 1.38–3.24; and RR 0.49, 95% CI 0.34–0.70, respectively) compared to the United States and Canada.Conclusions: In EVT for MeVO strokes, neurointerventionalists choose a targeted vessel specific first-line approach depending on the occlusion location, region of practice, and availability of the appropriate tools.

Left Atrial Shape and Function after Endovascular Device and Surgical Closure of ASDs in Children

Retrospective analysis of echocardiograms was performed in 756 children who received endovascular device or surgical ASD closure from 2006 to 2016 in the Cardiac Center in Tomsk Russia. 564 patients had an endovascular closure and 192 had surgical correction. Follow-up duration was from 1 day to 10 years, mean 3.6 yrs for the device group and 4.2 yrs for the surgery group. The control group consisted of 3393 age-matched healthy patients. In patients with endovascular closure of an ASD, 35% had a change in the shape of the left atrium in early follow-up. Changes in the shape of the left atrium at early follow-up were more often observed in the device group and in children of a younger age. The left atrial changes were a decrease in sphericity and an increase in ellipsoidy. Changes in the shape of the left atrium persisted in 22% after transcatheter correction in the long-term. The change in shape of the left atrium after the placement of ASD devices was accompanied by activation of the mechanical function of the atrium and an increase in the filling pressure of the left ventricle. These changes were not accompanied by any disturbance in the contractility and volume of the heart chambers. In the group with surgical correction of ASD, the contractility and volume of the heart chambers did not significantly differ from those in the device closure group

Biomechanical simulations and 3D printing for endovascular device testing

Endovascular aortic repair is a minimally invasive procedure to treat aortic diseases such as aneurysms and dissections. Thanks to technological advancements, such procedure has steadily shifted from the abdominal aorta towards the ascending part, i.e., near the heart, calling for an extensive and comprehensive benchmarking of (novel) endografts. Given such considerations, we have exploited porcine aorta with a pulse duplicator to analyse the mechanical interaction between the endovascular device and the native tissue. Our results have implications for using the porcine aorta as a model for human aorta in research. Particularly, the combination of in vitro tests performed using ex-vivo tissue, integrated validated patient-specific numerical simulations, mock arteries manufactured by 3D printing, can offer important insight on biomechanical impact of endograft design on post-operative aortic mechanical response.