Browsing by Author "Cvetkovic, Slobodan (7006158672)"

Background Left-sided inferior vena cava (LIVC) and duplicated inferior vena cava (DIVC) are rare asymptomatic congenital abnormalities. Unrecognized, these anomalies can be the source of major injuries and cause serious life-threatening bleeding complications especially during abdominal aortic surgery. Methods Retrospective data for patients with 2 major inferior vena cava (IVC) anomalies that underwent aortic surgery over a 13-year period were collected. Patient demographics, type of aortic disease and caval anomaly, surgical approach, type of aortic reconstruction associated with procedure on caval vein, postoperative complications, and in-hospital mortality were recorded. Results There were 9 patients with inferior vena cava (IVC) anomalies who underwent aortic surgery. All of them were men, with a median age of 66.2 years. Seven had an LIVC and 2 had DIVC. Five patients were operated on due to abdominal aortic aneurysm and 4 due to aortoiliac occlusive disease. In all patients, a midline transperitoneal aortic approach was performed. In 5 cases, the left IVC had to be temporarily resected and later reconstructed, and in the other 4 it was just mobilized. There were no postoperative complications except in one patient who developed deep vein thrombosis in the left calf; this was successfully treated with anticoagulant therapy. Conclusion Due to favorable results and low incidence of perioperative complications and in the absence of other associated abdominal pathology, we propose the midline transperitoneal approach with mobilization or temporary resection of LIVC. © 2016 Elsevier Inc.

Purpose: Carotid artery stenting (CAS) is an option for carotid restenosis (CR) treatment with favorable outcomes. However, CAS has also emerged as an alternative to carotid endarterectomy (CEA) for the management of patients with primary carotid stenosis. This study aimed to report CR rates after CAS was performed in patients with primary lesions versus restenosis after CEA, to identify predictors of CR, and to report both neurological and overall outcomes. Materials and methods: From January 2000 to September 2018, a total of 782 patients were divided into 2 groups: The CAS (prim) group consisted of 440 patients in whom CAS was performed for primary lesions, and the CAS (res) group consisted of 342 patients with CAS due to restenosis after CEA. Indications for CAS were symptomatic stenosis/restenosis >70% and asymptomatic stenosis/restenosis >85%. A color duplex scan (CDS) of carotid arteries was performed 6 months after CAS, after 1 year, and annually afterward. Follow-up ranged from 12 to 88 months, with a mean follow-up of 34.6±18.0 months. Results: There were no differences in terms of CR rate between the patients in the CAS (prim) and CAS (res) groups (8.7% vs 7.2%, χ2=0.691, p=0.406). The overall CR rate was 7.9%, whereas significant CR (>70%) rate needing re-intervention was 5.6%, but there was no difference between patients in the CAS (prim) and CAS (res) groups (6.4% vs 4.7%, p=0.351). Six independent predictors for CR were smoking, associated previous myocardial infarction and angina pectoris, plaque morphology, spasm after CAS, the use of FilterWire or Spider Fx cerebral protection devices, and time after stenting. A carotid restenosis risk index (CRRI) was created based on these predictors and ranged from –7 (minimal risk) to +10 (maximum risk); patients with a score >–4 were at increased risk for CR. There were no differences in terms of neurological and overall morbidity and mortality between the 2 groups. Conclusions: There was no difference in CR rate after CAS between the patients with primary stenosis and restenosis after CEA. A CRRI score >–4 is a criterion for identifying high-risk patients for post-CAS CR that should be tested in future randomized trials. © The Author(s) 2022.

Objective: The aim of our study was to compare early and long-term results of open repair of patients with inflammatory abdominal aortic aneurysm (IAAA) with matched cohort of patients with abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA). Methods: This retrospective single-center cohort study used prospectively collected data from an institutional registry from 1786 patients between 2009 and 2015. Patients with IAAA and AAA were matched by propensity score analysis controlling for demographics, baseline comorbidities, and AAA parameters in a 1:2 ratio. Patients were followed for 5 years. Results: There were 76 patients with IAAA and 152 patients with AAA. Patients with IAAA had more common intraoperative lesion of intraabdominal organs (P =.04), longer in-hospital (P =.035) and intensive care (P =.048) stays and a higher in-hospital mortality rate (P =.012). There were four patients (5.26%) with in-hospital lethal outcome in IAAA there were no deaths in the AAA group. During the follow-up, there was no difference in survival (χ2 = 0.07; DF = 1; P =.80) and overall aortic related complications (χ2 = 1.25; DF = 1; P =.26); however, aortic graft infection was more frequent in IAAA group (P =.04). Conclusions: Open repair of IAAA is challenging and comparing to AAA carries a higher perioperative risk and long-term infection rate, even in high-volume centers. The main causes of complications are intraoperative injury of adjacent organs, bleeding, and coronary events. Patients with AAA in a matched cohort showed equal long-term survival, which should be assessed in bigger registries. © 2019 Society for Vascular Surgery

Aim: The purpose of this study was to explain our strategy in treatment patients with intramural hematoma (IMH) and to establish the optimal mode of management patients with type A IMH. Methods: This study retrograde analyzes the treatment strategies for acute IMH managed by our program. We have evaluated 32 patients with IMH, who were admitted at hospital from January 2001to December 2010. On arrival urgent operation was performed for the patients of IMH with cardiac tamponade and persistent pain. Uncomplicated patients with IMH were treated medically. During the early and late follow-up medically treated patients, IMH showed signs of progression to type A dissection, ruptured aneurysm or aneurismal enlargement (>55 mm). Long term survival was evaluated statistically. Results: Three urgent operations were performed with patients type A IMH, succssefully. The rest 29 patients were treated medically (11 type A and 18 type B IMH). Among them, 6 patients with type A and 1 type B were converted to early surgical intevtevtion (one patient died). During a late follow-up 2 patients type A were converted to late surgical intervention (none of them died). During that period 5 of medically treated patients died (1 type A and 4 type B). The 10-years survival rate was 81% for patients with IMH. Conclusion: According to results of our study, we still prefer medical treatment for type B IMH patients. But, we believe that early surgical treatment of acute type A IMH have a better results than medical treatment.

Background and Objectives: It has been suggested that intense feelings of fear/anxiety and significant patient concerns may affect the perioperative course. Those findings emphasize the importance of surgical patients’ preoperative feelings. Still, current knowledge in this area is based on a limited number of studies. Thus, we think that there is a need to further explore patients’ preoperative fears, better characterize risk factors and reasons for their occurrence, and evaluate patients’ perspectives associated with anesthesia. Materials and Methods: A total of 385 patients undergoing vascular surgery were preoperatively interviewed using a questionnaire that included demographics and questions related to patients’ fears and perceptions of anesthesia. Statistical analyses included descriptive statistics, Pearson’s χ2 and McNemar tests, and multivariate ordinal logistic regression. Results: The main causes of patients’ preoperative fear were surgery (53.2%), potential complications (46.5%), and anesthesia (40%). Female sex was a predictor of surgery and anesthesia-related fear (OR = 3.07, p = 0.001; OR = 2.4, p = 0.001, respectively). Previous experience lowered the fear of current surgery (OR = 0.65, p = 0.031) and anesthesia (OR = 0.6, p = 0.017). Type of surgery, type of anesthesia, educational and socioeconomic status, and personal knowledge of an anesthesiologist affected specific anesthesia-related fears. Over 25% of patients did not know that an anesthesiologist is a physician, and only 17.7% knew where anesthesiologists work. Level of education and place of residence influenced patients’ perceptions of anesthesia. Conclusions: Anesthesia-related fears are affected by the type of surgery/anesthesia, experience with previous surgery, and personal knowledge of an anesthesiologist. Women, patients with lower education levels, and patients with poorer socioeconomic status are at higher risk of developing those fears. The perception of anesthesiologists is inadequate, and knowledge of anesthesia is poor. Promotion of patient education regarding anesthesia is needed to alleviate those fears and increase understanding of anesthesia. © 2022 by the authors.

Background: One of the rare forms of abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) rupture is the rupture into great abdominal veins such as the inferior vein cava (IVC), the iliac veins, or the left renal vein, with the formation of direct or indirect aorto-caval fistula (ACF). The purpose of the present study was to summarize 20 years of experience at a single referral center for vascular surgery in a developing country, and to discuss the clinical presentation, diagnosis, treatment options, and outcome of patients with spontaneous aorto-venous fistulas (AVF) caused by ruptured aortic aneurysms. Materials and methods: Retrospective database review identified 50 patients treated in our institution for aorto-venous fistulas (AVF) caused by spontaneous AAA rupture in the 20 years 1991-2010. Pulsating abdominal mass and low back pain were the leading symptoms on admission in our patients. Signs of shock, congestive heart failure, or pelvic and lower extremity venous hypertension were present in 48%, 26%, and 75% of the patients, respectively. Diagnosis of AVF was based on physical examination, duplex ultrasonography, conventional angiography, or multislice computed tomography (MSCT). In 40% of the patients the presence of AVF has not been recognized before surgery. All patients were treated with open surgery. Results: After proximal and distal bleeding control the fistula was closed with direct suture (92%) or patch angioplasty (8%). Aortic reconstruction followed with tubular (22%) or bifurcated (78%) synthetic graft. Six (12%) patients died. The causes of death were excessive intraoperative blood loss, myocardial infarction, left colon gangrene and multiple organ failure. Conclusions: Spontaneous AVFs caused by aneurysmal rupture are not uncommon, and they require prompt surgical or endovascular treatment. Routine use of multislice CT in patients with acute aortic syndrome is probably the best way to the correct diagnosis of aorto-venous fistulas and planning of the optimal treatment. © 2011 Société Internationale de Chirurgie.