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A 19-year-old female presented with intermittent claudication without anatomical abnormality in the popliteal fossa on magnetic resonance imaging and computed tomography. However, duplex ultrasound (DUS) showed compression of the popliteal artery (PA) and vein during plantarflexion and dorsiflexion. She was diagnosed with functional PA entrapment syndrome (PAES) and underwent resection of the plantaris and gastrocnemius muscles using DUS with stress maneuvers, which relieved the symptoms. In physically active adults, functional PAES can develop without anatomical abnormality. Thus, in the field of vascular medicine, it is important to consider this underrecognized pathophysiology among young people with lower leg pain., (@ 2024 The Editorial Committee of Annals of Vascular Diseases.)

Objective: In the treatment of chronic limb-threatening ischemia (CLTI), complete wound healing is an important goal. Although foot perfusion status seems to be important for wound healing, the Global Limb Anatomic Staging System (GLASS) of the Global Vascular Guidelines does not include pedal artery status for the staging process due to the lack of sufficient evidence of its importance. This study aimed to clarify the importance of pedal perfusion status after bypass surgery., Methods: Among the 153 CLTI cases that underwent bypass distal to popliteal arteries from 2014 to 2018, 117 CLTI limbs with wounds and with sufficient pedal angiographic data were enrolled. They were classified into two groups, based on the wound status 6 months postoperatively; early wound healing group (EWG; n = 78), which achieved complete wound healing within 6 months postoperatively, and prolonged healing or unhealed wounds group (PWG; n = 39), which failed to achieve wound healing within 6 months. Various factors associated with wound healing, including the wound, ischemia, and foot infection (WIfI) classification, intraoperative graft flow, and pedal angiographic data, were analyzed. Regarding pedal angiographic data, in addition to the GLASS inframalleolar/pedal disease descriptor (IPD), newly formed classification system of the pedal circulation status in association with the location of wounds was included: pedal circulation status was classified into two groups as visualized arterial perfusion towards wounds (visualized perfusion) and non-visualized arterial perfusion towards wounds (non-visualized perfusion)., Results: Univariate analysis showed preoperative albumin (Odds ratio [OR], 0.47; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.24-0.94; P = .027), higher WIfI clinical stage (OR, 3.88; 95% CI, 1.74-10.1; P = .0005), higher IPD (OR, 2.16; 95% CI, 1.16-4.02; P = .012), and non-visualized perfusion to wounds (OR, 5.74: 95% CI, 2.45-14.0; P < .0001) as significant for prolonged wound healing. Multivariate analysis showed higher WIfI stage (OR, 5.04; 95% CI, 1.74-14.6; P = .0029) and non-visualized perfusion to wounds (OR, 4.34; 95% CI, 1.71-11.0; P = .0021) as significant, whereas IPD was not detected as significant. Regarding blood supply to the foot, although graft flow was significantly lower in IPD-P2 than IPD-P0/P1, graft flow was similar regardless of the status of angiographic circulation to wounds, suggesting that distribution of blood supply to the wound would be more important than total amount of blood supply to the foot for wound healing., Conclusions: WIfI clinical stage and pedal circulatory environment were important factors for wound healing after bypass surgery. Pedal anatomical classification system including perfusion status would be important for decision making in CLTI treatment., Competing Interests: Disclosures None., (Copyright © 2024 Society for Vascular Surgery. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

The Indigo Aspiration System (Penumbra Ltd., Alameda, CA, USA), a catheter-based device intended for the endovascular removal of clots from peripheral arteries and veins, was launched in Japan to treat acute limb ischemia after the cessation of urokinase sales. The initial application of this system in Japan was on a 96-year-old male patient. He was diagnosed with acute lower limb ischemia, which was caused by an embolism from a left common iliac artery aneurysm. The treatment significantly enhanced the perfusion to his left foot. This case report elaborates on the patient's treatment experience and discusses the indications for using the device., (@ 2024 The Editorial Committee of Annals of Vascular Diseases.)

A 52-year-old man who had received hemodialysis via a left radial-cephalic arteriovenous fistula (AVF) for 18 years presented with severe ischemic symptoms in the left upper arm 12 years after occlusion of the AVF. Diagnostic imaging revealed thrombotic occlusion from a left axillary-brachial artery aneurysm, which required distal bypass surgery. The inflow artery of an AVF can develop aneurysmal degeneration, resulting in upper limb ischemia by embolization or decreased flow, especially with a ligated or occluded AVF or immunosuppressive therapy after renal transplantation. In such cases, the AVF should be monitored, even if ligated or occluded., Competing Interests: None., (© 2023 Published by Elsevier Inc. on behalf of Society for Vascular Surgery.)

Background: Subcutaneous extension of a perigraft seroma following thoracic aortic surgery is an infrequently encountered complication. For treatment, it is necessary to first exclude the possibility of perigraft fluid collection secondary to infection, a pseudoaneurysm, or impending rupture. However, it is difficult to diagnose collected fluid as indicative of a perigraft seroma, and there is also no standardized treatment for this condition., Case Presentation: Three patients who had undergone graft replacement of a thoracic aorta with arch reconstruction were referred to our department for findings of a subcutaneous tumor. In each, computed tomography showed perigraft fluid accumulation in the posterior sternum. In one, a subcutaneous tumor had appeared in the center area of the median sternotomy, 4 months after the operation. It was considered that a wound infection was the likely cause; thus, negative pressure wound therapy was started after incisional drainage and debridement. However, a fever developed 14 days after debridement, resulting in mediastinitis, the latter of which was assumed to be caused by a retrograde infection of the incisional wound. In the other two cases, a subcutaneous tumor appeared in the center of the median area of the sternotomy at 3 and 4 months, respectively, after the operation. In both, the tumor was treated with continuous drainage by aspiration with negative pressure, and cultures of drainage samples were negative for infection. Neither patient had a fever during hospitalization, and fluid collection disappeared during follow-up. In one of the latter two cases, a subcutaneous tumor formed again 3 months after drainage, which was treated in the same manner and subsequently disappeared. Thereafter, there was no recurrence noted at the 3-year follow-up examination., Conclusion: A perigraft seroma following thoracic aortic surgery, an infrequently encountered complication, has an appearance is similar to a subdermal tumor. Continuous aspiration drainage is a useful option for patients with no fever and negative for infection in drainage culture results., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Thrombus formation is a troublesome and sometimes lethal complication occurring in patients with severe heart failure and supported by a left ventricular assist device (LVAD). Appropriate treatment for pump thrombosis especially in emergency cases with severe pump failure is difficult to choose. Herein, we present important findings of a case of unexpected LVAD pump thrombosis that rapidly developed into serious pump failure and circulatory arrest due to total obstruction of the LVAD inflow tract by a huge thrombus., (© 2022. The Japanese Society for Artificial Organs.)

Perigraft seroma (PS) is a postoperative complication occurring after prosthesis placement. A 48-year-old man who had previously undergone visceral debranching bypass surgery as a part of hybrid thoracoabdominal aortic repair was referred to our hospital because of vomiting. Contrast-enhanced computed tomography revealed a duodenal obstruction resulting from compression by a PS located around the bypass graft and extending to the right renal artery. Endovascular relining of the visceral bypass graft using a covered stent was performed, resulting in immediate resolution of the duodenal obstruction and shrinkage of the PS. Endovascular repair can be considered as an effective option for treating a PS., (© 2022 The Author(s).)

Congenital atresia of the common and external iliac arteries is an extremely rare vascular anomaly, although often associated with limb ischemia and genitourinary malformations. We have presented a rare case of the congenital absence of the left common and external iliac arteries, with no limb ischemic symptoms or organ anomalies present., (© 2021 Published by Elsevier Inc. on behalf of Society for Vascular Surgery.)