BACKGROUND: Catheterization of target vessels (TV) represented by renal visceral vessels are the crucial aspect during fenestrated and branched endovascular repair. This study aims to assess the efficacy and complications associated with upper limb catheterization during complex aneurysm endovascular surgery repair.
METHODS: A systematic review was conducted after Preferred Reporting Items for a Systematic Review and Meta-analysis (PRISMA) guidelines, involving a search across PubMed, Cochrane CENTRAL, and Web of Science. Primary endpoint was represented by 30-day stroke. Secondary endpoints were target vessels\' (TVs) technical success, 30-day mortality, and local access-related complications. Meta-analyses were performed using a random-effects model.
RESULTS: Sixteen observational studies encompassing 4,137 patients were included. The 30-day stroke incidence for upper limb access was 1.4% (95% CI 1.0-1.8%), which was slightly higher than lower limb, despite not statistically significant. Mortality varied between 0 and 6.8%, and local access-related complications occurred in 3.2% (95% CI 1.9-4.4%). Technical success in TV catheterization was 99.2% (95% CI 98.4-100.0%).
CONCLUSIONS: This systematic review and meta-analysis demonstrate the safety and efficacy of upper limb access for Fenestrated and Branched Endovascular Aortic Repair (f/b-EVAR), with low stroke risk, mortality rates, and minimal local complications. Despite the risk of bias, the findings suggest that upper limb access may be beneficial, especially in bailout situations when femoral access fails, offering valuable insights for clinical decision-making.

The incidence of T4b esophageal cancer with aortic invasion but without distant metastasis is estimated to be between 3.8% and 4.6% of all esophageal cancer cases. Development of an aortoesophageal fistula in such cases is a rare but not unlikely event, leading to catastrophic consequences. The aim of this systematic review is to evaluate the importance of aortic stenting (Thoracic Endovascular Aortic Repair-TEVAR) and its optimal timing in the management of locally advanced esophageal cancer. A systematic literature search of the MEDLINE, Scopus, and Google Scholar databases was undertaken to identify relevant studies published up to March 2024. An individual patient data analysis was performed by forming a patient cohort with elective and salvage TEVAR subgroups, depending on the timing of the stenting. The study pool consisted of 25 studies incorporating 101 cases of locally advanced esophageal cancer, with a median age of 64 years (range 45-87 years). Of them, 50 patients underwent elective TEVAR compared with 51 patients receiving TEVAR in an acute salvage setting. Elective or prophylactic TEVAR was found to significantly increase esophageal resection rates (65.6% vs. 16.7% in the salvage subgroup, P < 0.001), concurrently reducing complication rates (8.3% vs. 36.1%, P < 0.001). Overall survival was also prolonged in the elective subgroup (8.3 vs. 4 months, P = 0.001), with elective stenting being the only independent predictor of improved survival. In conclusion, management with aortic stenting in high-risk patients may reduce the catastrophic consequences of massive bleeding, minimize complications, and enhance survival rates.

BACKGROUND: Blunt traumatic aortic injury (BTAI) is the second leading cause of death due to traumas in young patients. The primary presentation might be chest or interscapular pain, difficulty in breathing, and, in severe cases, hypotension. Considering the rapid deterioration of these patients\' clinical conditions, prompt diagnosis and treatment initiation are crucial. In these injuries, the most involved parts of the aorta are the isthmus (distal to the left subclavian artery) and the descending part in the thorax. Therefore, the main diagnostic strategies include transthoracic echocardiography, CT angiography, and endovascular diagnostic approaches. Case presentation The patient was a 19-year-old male presenting with the symptoms of chest pain, dyspnea, and extremities excruciating pain after a car turnover. The initial evaluation showed no abnormal cardiovascular finding except bilateral hemothorax, addressed with chest tubes. Twelve hours later, when the patient was under observation for orthopedic surgeries, his chest pain and dyspnea started, and TTE and CTA showed a grade three descending aneurysm of the aorta. The patient was treated immediately with an endovascular procedure of stent implantation. A delayed debranching surgery was also performed, which resulted in desirable outcomes and uneventful follow-up.
CONCLUSIONS: Although open thoracic surgery is the main and almost the only option for treating aneurysms of the aorta in hemodynamically unstable patients, the endovascular procedure has shown superior outcomes in selected patients with appropriate anatomy. Debranching surgery, which can be done simultaneously or with delay after the initial procedure, has proven protective against thromboembolic cerebral events.
UNASSIGNED: Patients with an aneurysm of the aorta should be transported to a medical center with a multidisciplinary team for an urgent evaluation and treatment. The initial resuscitation and diagnosis are challenging, considering the fatal nature of these injuries, and the selection of the treatment is based on the patient\'s clinical condition and evaluated anatomy in cardiovascular imaging.

Hepatic artery aneurysms (HAAs) are an uncommon vascular disease, which account for 20% of visceral artery aneurysms. The majority are usually asymptomatic and discovered accidentally during imaging control, but occasionally, they can present as acute abdominal pain, haemobilia, obstructive jaundice, or gastrointestinal bleeding due to aneurysm sac expansion or rupture with catastrophic consequences. We present the case of a 51-year-old male patient with a giant common HAA of 11.1 cm who was managed endovascularly. A combined endovascular approach was decided due to the anatomy of the aneurysm. Endovascular embolization with coils in the distal part of the aneurysm and deployment of a stent graft proximally to exclude inflow were used. At six months, the aneurysm size was regressed at 5 cm; however, seven months after the operation, the patient presented with pylorus perforation due to coil migration which was managed by coil removal, peripheral gastrectomy, and Roux-en-Y gastric bypass. We provide a narrative literature review regarding the endovascular repair of giant HAAs. The PubMed, Scopus, and Google Scholar databases were searched for articles up to January 2024. Thirty-eight studies (case reports, case series) were retrieved. The conclusion is that giant HAAs are a rare and severe condition in which their treatment can be challenging with unexpected adverse events. The literature review suggests that the endovascular approach whenever feasible is a safe and effective treatment option with low morbidity and mortality.

Aberrant right subclavian artery (ARSA) causing dysphagia, the so-called \"dysphagia lusoria\", is a frequent embryologic anomaly of the aortic arch. In symptomatic patients, studies report several management options including surgical, hybrid, and totally endovascular strategies. Hybrid techniques have the advantage of no chest opening with reduced morbidity, but the problem of the ARSA stump causing recurrent or persistent dysphagia remains challenging in some cases. We conducted a literature review on the management strategies of ARSA and presented the case of a 72-year-old female patient with ARSA and dysphagia managed with thoracic endovascular repair of the aorta (TEVAR) and bilateral carotid-subclavian artery bypass. This technique was chosen because of the severe calcifications at the level of ARSA origin that would make surgical ligation difficult, or if an occluder device not suitable. We think that a patient-tailored approach should be considered in cases of dysphagia lusoria, considering that a multitude of strategies are reported.

UNASSIGNED: Comparative effectiveness of fenestrated endovascular aneurysm repair (FEVAR) and chimney graft endovascular aneurysm repair (ChEVAR) for juxtarenal aortic aneurysms (JAAs) remains unclear. Our objective was to identify and analyze the current body of evidence comparing the effectiveness of both techniques for JAA.
UNASSIGNED: We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis comparing the effectiveness of FEVAR and ChEVAR for JAA repair. We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, and Cochrane Register for Controlled Trials from January 1, 1990, for randomized and non-randomized studies assessing outcomes of FEVAR and ChEVAR for JAA repair. Screening, data extraction, risk of bias assessment, and GRADE (Grading of Recommendations, Assessments, Development, and Evaluations) certainty of evidence were performed in duplicate. Data were pooled statistically where possible.
UNASSIGNED: Nine retrospective cohort studies comparing the use of FEVAR and ChEVAR for juxtarenal aneurysm were included for meta-analysis. The FEVAR and ChEVAR arms of the meta-analysis consisted of 726 participants and 518 participants, respectively. There were 598 (86.8%) and 332 (81.6%) men in each arm. The mean diameter was larger in the ChEVAR arm (59 mm vs 52.5 mm). Both techniques had similar rates of postoperative 30-day mortality, 3.38% (8/237) versus 3.52% (8/227), acute kidney injury, 16.76% (31/185) versus 17.31% (18/104), and major adverse cardiac events, 7.30% (46/630) versus 6.60% (22/333). The meta-analysis supported the use of FEVAR for most outcomes, with significant advantage for technical success (odds ratio [OR]: 3.24, 95% CI: 1.24-8.42) and avoidance of type 1 endoleak (OR: 5.76, 95% CI: 1.94-17.08), but a disadvantage for spinal cord ischemia (OR: 10.21, 95% CI: 1.21-86.11), which had a very low number of events. The quality of evidence was \"moderate\" for most outcomes.
UNASSIGNED: Both endovascular techniques had good safety profiles. The evidence does not support superiority of either FEVAR or ChEVAR for JAA.
UNASSIGNED: While lack of equipoise has hampered the design of randomised trials of open versus endovascular repair of juxtarenal aortic aneurysms, concern about the durability of endovascular repair highlights the need for stronger evidence of the comparative efficacy of endovascular techniques. This review performed meta-analysis and evidence appraisal of recent data from large observational studies comparing fenestrated and chimney techniques, using a comprehensive outcome set. Superiority of either intervention could not be established due to differences in participants\' baseline risk in each study arm. However, data suggests that both techniques are safe and suitable for use when indicated.

UNASSIGNED: Blunt thoracic aortic injury (BTAI) represents a potentially life-threatening condition and thoracic endovascular aortic repair (TEVAR) is recommended as the first-line treatment (Class I level of evidence C) by the current guidelines. The aim of this systematic review was to determine the perioperative and mid-term follow-up outcomes of patients with BTAI treated with TEVAR.
UNASSIGNED: We reviewed the English literature published between 2000 and 2022, via Ovid, using MEDLINE, EMBASE, and CENTRAL databases, until July 30, 2022. Observational studies and case series, with ≥5 patients, reporting on the perioperative and follow-up outcomes of patients who underwent TEVAR for BTAI were included. The Newcastle-Ottawa Scale was used to assess the risk of bias. Primary outcomes were technical success and 30-day mortality, cerebrovascular morbidity. Secondary outcomes were mortality and re-interventions during the mid-term follow-up.
UNASSIGNED: From 5201 articles identified by the literature search, 35 eligible studies were included in this review. All studies had a retrospective study design. In total, 991 patients were included. The mean age was 34.5±16.5 years (range=16-89 years). Technical success was 98.0% (odds ratio [OR], 95% confidence interval [CI]=0.98, 0.99, p<0.001, I2=0%). Mortality at 30 days was 5.0% (OR, 95% CI=0.03, 0.06, p<0.001, I2=5.56%). Spinal cord ischemia occurred in 1.0% (OR, 95% CI=0.01, 0.02, p<0.001, I2=0%) and stroke rate was 2.0% (OR, 95% CI=0.01, 0.02, p<0.001, I2=0%). The available follow-up was estimated at 29 months (range=3-119 months) with mortality rate at 2.0% (OR, 95% CI=0.01, 0.02, p<0.001, I2=0%) and re-intervention rate at 1.0% (OR, 95% CI=0.01, 0.02, p<0.001, I2=10.5%).
UNASSIGNED: Thoracic endovascular aortic repair showed high technical success and low early cerebrovascular morbidity and mortality rates. In the mid-term follow-up, the estimated mortality and re-intervention rates were also low. Furthermore, higher quality prospective studies are needed.
CONCLUSIONS: Thoracic endovascular aortic repair (TEVAR) is recommended as the first line treatement in patients with blunt thoracic aortic injuries (BTAI). This systematic review of 35 retrospective studies and 991 patients showed high technical success (98.0%) with an associated 30-day mortality at 5.0% and low spinal cord ischemia (1%) and stroke rates (2.0%). Mid-term mortality and re-intervention rates reassure the effectiveness of TEVAR in BTAI cases.

BACKGROUND: Non-aortic arterial injuries are common and are associated with high morbidity and mortality. Historically, open surgical repair (OSR) was the conventional method of repair. With recent advancements in minimally invasive techniques, endovascular repair (ER) has gained popularity. We sought to compare outcomes in patients undergoing endovascular and open repairs of traumatic non-aortic penetrating arterial injuries.
METHODS: A systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted using MEDLINE (OVID), Web of Science, Cochrane Library, and Scopus Database from January 1st, 1990, to March 20th, 2023. Titles and abstracts were screened, followed by full text review. Articles assessing clinically important outcomes between OSR and ER in penetrating arterial injuries were included. Exclusion criteria included blunt injuries, aortic injuries, pediatric populations, review articles, and non-English articles. Odds ratios (OR) and Cohen\'s d ratios were used to quantify differences in morbidity and mortality.
RESULTS: A total of 3770 articles were identified, of which 8 met inclusion criteria and were included in the review. The articles comprised a total of 8369 patients of whom 90 % were male with a median age of 28 years. 85 % of patients were treated with OSR while 15 % underwent ER. With regards to injury characteristics, those who underwent ER were less likely to present with concurrent venous injuries (OR: 0.41; 95 %CI: 0.18, 0.94; p = 0.03). Regarding hospital outcomes, patients who underwent ER had a lower likelihood of in-hospital or 30-day mortality (OR: 0.72; 95 %CI: 0.55, 0.95; p = 0.02) and compartment syndrome (OR: 0.29, 95 %CI: 0.12, 0.71; p = 0.007). The overall risk of bias was moderate.
CONCLUSIONS: Endovascular repair of non-aortic penetrating arterial injuries is increasingly common, however open repair remains the most common approach. Compared to ER, OSR was associated with higher odds of compartment syndrome and mortality. Further prospective research is warranted to determine the patient populations and injury patterns that most significantly benefit from an endovascular approach.
METHODS: Level III, Systematic Reviews & Meta-Analyses.

Renal vein aneurysm (RVA) is extremely rare and often asymptomatic, disclosed only incidentally on diagnostic imaging modalities such as computed tomography and ultrasonography. Management is often just watchful follow-up, but some patients require intervention. We present the case of a 74-year-old man complaining of lower back pain in whom a 53-mm RVA was identified. He underwent successful endovascular repair using Amplatzer vascular plugs. The aneurysm had completely resolved by 12 months. Endovascular treatment of a primary RVA does not seem to have been reported previously. This is a milestone case in the management of RVA.

UNASSIGNED: Aortic aneurysm as a presenting feature in Takayasu\'s arteritis is very rare. Here, we report three cases of extensive thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysm in Takayasu\'s arteritis as initial presentation.
UNASSIGNED: All three cases were males and presented with complaints of abdominal pain and refractory hypertension. The diagnosis was made from the finding of thickened and calcified aortic wall, stenosis of visceral arteries, and age < 40 years at diagnosis. Case 1 was a 34 years male with aortic aneurysm extending from left subclavian artery to infrarenal aorta. He underwent endovascular repair of aneurysm by sandwich chimney technique in view of impending aneurysm rupture. Case 2, a 37 years male had aortic aneurysm from descending thoracic aorta (D4 vertebral body) to infrarenal aorta (L4 level). While being evaluated for repair, he had sudden death probably due to ruptured aneurysm. Case three, a 40 years male had aortic aneurysm extending from left subclavian artery to aortic bifurcation and stenosis of visceral arteries. He did not consent for repair and died one year later due to chronic kidney disease and related complications.
UNASSIGNED: Thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysm is a very rare manifestation in Takayasu\'s arteritis; more common in males. Endovascular repair is challenging but feasible. Long-term monitoring and repeat intervention may be needed due to young age of patients and disease progression.