Publication bias and the editorial process.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to J L Kaufman.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Painless edema of the left leg developed in a 65-year-old man without a history of venous disease, and he was found to have a mass compressing the lumen of the left common femoral vein. The intramural cyst was drained through transvenous exposure and found to contain mucoid material. This is the seventh case of adventitial cystic disease of a vein in the world literature. Analogous to adventitial cystic disease of arteries, it is defined by venography, CT scanning, and duplex ultrasonography. Surgical drainage is the treatment of choice.
Long vein bypass from the femoral artery to the level of the ankle may be performed with good initial success despite extreme bypass length and limited outflow tracts. However, the long-term performance of these bypasses remains to be defined. During the last 10 years we have performed single greater saphenous vein in situ bypass to the ankle level in 270 patients. There were 187 male and 83 female patients, and 61% of the patients were diabetic. The operative mortality rate was 3.7%. Cumulative bypass patency was 79% at 3 years and 73% at 5 years. In a similar manner, limb salvage was 93% at 3 years and 89% at 5 years. The patency rate was similar for various inflow arteries (common femoral, 88 cases; proximal superficial femoral, 135 cases; and deep femoral, 41 cases) and outflow tracts (dorsal pedal, 72 cases; anterior tibial, 59 cases; posterior tibial, 72 cases, and peroneal, 67 cases). Short bypasses, composite bypasses, free-vein grafts, and bypasses proximal to 10 cm above the ankle were excluded from this analysis. These data show that a long bypass to the ankle level for limb salvage is a durable procedure. The basic concept of bypassing all occlusive disease to the distal open artery in patients undergoing limb salvage should be an acceptable dictum. Excellent long-term patency and limb salvage rates are achievable by following this principle.
The efficacy, risks, and benefits of the use of local anesthesia for surgery on the foot were assessed in 75 patients who underwent 127 procedures with lower calf, ankle, metatarsal-ray, and digital blocks. There were 23 procedures on digits alone, 97 forefoot operations (transmetatarsal amputations, wound debridements, closures, osteotomies, joint resections), six ankle or hind-foot amputations, and one open ankle disarticulation. There were no complications directly related to the use of local anesthesia; specifically, no extension of preexisting infection or ischemia due to injection in the foot. There were three deaths (30-day mortality 4%). The procedures were uniformly well tolerated, even in patients with ongoing myocardial ischemia or severe metabolic disorders. Local anesthesia is a safe and effective method to perform local debridement or amputation of the foot in an ischemic or diabetic extremity.
Three patients developed severe ischemia of the penis or scrotum from acute arterial occlusion. In one case, nonhealing ulceration of the glans developed after atheroembolism to the dorsal penile artery. One patient had penile ischemia after ligation of pelvic and femoral collateral circulation during repair of an aorto-bilateral-iliac artery aneurysm. A third patient had ischemia of the penis and scrotum from thromboembolism to the iliac arteries during repair of an aortoenteric fistula. Only seven patients have been described with acute arterial occlusion and severe ischemia of the male genitalia. A rare phenomenon because of rich collateral circulation, acute ischemia of the genitalia nevertheless must be recognized as a sign of severe vascular disease and a consequence of major arterial ligation or occlusion in the pelvis and groins.
Abdominal aortic aneurysm is conventionally treated by aneurysmorrhaphy with inlying graft. Alternatively, division of the aorta, with suture closure of the distal aorta and outflow vessels (exclusion of the aneurysm), and end-to-end proximal to distal bypass may be performed. However, the long-term fate of this operation has not been determined. Specifically, concern exists that the excluded blood filled aneurysm may not thrombose or may be the source of late sepsis. During an 8-year period we have treated 280 abdominal aortic aneurysms (urgent and elective) by exclusion of the abdominal aortic aneurysm sac and bypass via the posterolateral retroperitoneal approach. Mean age was 70 years (range, 44 to 88), with 217 men and 63 women. Preoperative CT scanning and aortography were performed to assess arterial anatomy. Seventy tube grafts and 260 bifurcation grafts were used. Thirty-day mortality rate was 4%. Estimated blood loss was 731 +/- 52 ml; mean transfusion requirements were 456 +/- 82 ml. The minor complication rate was 6%, and it is of great interest that there were no cases of ischemic colitis requiring colectomy. Aneurysm sacs thrombosed except in two anticoagulated patients who required further treatment. No late infections occurred. Five-year bypass patency rate was 98%. These data demonstrate that this method of treatment effectively minimized operative dissection and blood loss and therefore is a viable alternative for the management of abdominal aortic aneurysms.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Metallic prostheses used for joint reconstruction or open reduction of fractures were discovered pre- or intraoperatively during the performance of six above-knee amputations. The prosthesis was found fortuitously before surgery in two cases on the basis of a surgical scar or radiograph of the leg. In four patients, discovery occurred intraoperatively, with adverse impact on the procedure in two cases: more proximal amputation level to allow hip nail removal was necessary in one case, and difficult transection of the prosthesis stem was encountered in one case. Orthopedic prostheses will be found with an increasing incidence in the population undergoing major amputation. As preparation for amputation, a careful review of the patient's history, a search for scars over the leg and hip, and survey radiographs of the leg must be obtained to prevent a surgical mishap caused by accidental discovery of a prosthesis.
We treated six patients with disseminated atheroembolism complicated by severe and unremitting pain from bilateral foot lesions. All patients had multiple and severe medical risk factors. One patient had a recent myocardial infarction, six patients had renal failure, and three were undergoing hemodialysis. Definitive aortic reconstruction was therefore precluded. After failing a course of medical therapy, each patient was treated with axillobifemoral bypass with exclusion-ligation of the external iliac arteries. Healing of foot wounds occurred in 11 of 12 limbs at risk, with one below-knee amputation required for progressive forefoot necrosis. In 12 patients with severe cardiopulmonary disease and limited life expectancy, exclusion-ligation bypass is an effective and safe palliative procedure for severe disseminated atheroembolism.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
A mycotic femoral artery aneurysm developed in a diabetic man with bacteremia from a Staphylococcus aureus urinary tract infection. Because of severe concomitant congestive heart failure and hypothyroidism, surgical reconstruction of the femoral artery was deferred while the patient received an intensive course of intravenous nafcillin. This led to stabilization of the size of the femoral aneurysm for two years, during which time it remained asymptomatic. Three such cases of nonsurgical treatment of a mycotic aneurysm have been documented. Surgical ligation, drainage, and bypass remain the mainstay therapies for mycotic aneurysms, but these cases demonstrate the possibility of sterilizing a primary arterial infection under the highly selected circumstances of an exquisitely sensitive organism, absence of periarterial abscess and readily observable anatomic location. Most importantly, these cases provide assurance that a six-week course of parenteral antibiotics is a reasonable adjunctive treatment for residual endovascular infection.
The retroperitoneal approach for elective treatment of abdominal aortic aneurysms is an accepted alternative to midline transperitoneal approaches and may provide less physiologic insult and a smoother postoperative course. In recent years we have preferentially used the extended retroperitoneal approach for ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysms to derive similar physiologic benefits for these patients. Over a 6-year period (1983 to 1989) 76 cases of ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysms were treated by emergency aortic replacement. After exclusion of 13 patients whose aneurysmal ruptures were unusual, such as aortoenteric fistula, aortocaval fistula, chronic contained rupture, or visceral involvement, 63 patients were retrospectively studied. Thirty-eight patients were treated via a standard transperitoneal celiotomy and 25 via a left retroperitoneal incision. No significant differences were found between the two groups in regard to cardiac or pulmonary function or duration of preoperative hypotension. Operative mortality was lower in the retroperitoneal group (three of 25, 12%) as compared to the transperitoneal group (13 of 38, 34.2%). Furthermore, the retroperitoneal group required less ventilatory support and tolerated enteral feedings quickly. Length of stay in the hospital was also significantly reduced in the retroperitoneal group. These data indicate that many ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysms can be successfully treated through the left retroperitoneal approach. In this nonrandomized clinical series increased survival rates and shorter periods of postoperative recovery were noted in the patients operated with the retroperitoneal approach.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
The development of capillary basement membrane thickening has been linked to microvascular changes known to occur in tissues of patients with type II diabetes. Previous evidence has suggested that capillary basement membrane thickening is due to increased basement membrane synthesis. In this study, skin samples from 8 diabetic patients with confirmed capillary basement membrane thickening and 7 non-diabetic controls were used to assess steady state levels of mRNAs coding for several basement components including pro alpha 1(IV) collagen, laminin and fibronectin. Total RNA was extracted from abdominal skin samples and levels of mRNAs coding for the basement membrane components laminin, fibronectin and pro alpha 1(IV) collagen, a fibrillar collagenous protein, pro alpha 1(I) collagen and an intracellular polypeptide, gamma-actin, were determined by dot blot hybridization analysis. While there were no changes of steady state levels of pro alpha 1(I) collagen mRNA and laminin mRNA, a significant reduction was noted in the quantitative recovery of mRNA levels for pro alpha 1(IV) collagen, gamma-actin and fibronectin in total RNA isolated from the skin of diabetic patients. This reduction in levels of mRNAs coding for basement membrane components contrasts with pathological confirmation of an accumulation of endothelial capillary basement membrane in skin from diabetic patients and suggests that basement membrane thickening arises more as a consequence of reduced basement membrane degradation than elevated synthesis of basement membrane components.
The preferential use of autologous blood provided by phlebotomy can reduce the need for homologous blood transfusion in patients undergoing extensive elective operations. This blood is usually provided either by intraoperative isovolemic hemodilution or phlebotomy one to two weeks preoperatively. To minimize the intraoperative time delay or preoperative period between phlebotomy and operation required in these patients, we performed preoperative isovolemic hemodilution in 69 patients one to two days prior to elective aortic replacement for infrarenal aneurysmal disease. Patients underwent phlebotomy a mean of 0.57 +/- 0.01 liter of whole blood; volume was replaced with lactated Ringer's solution. Hematocrit levels decreased from a mean value of 42.9 +/- 0.4 per cent to 33.7 +/- 0.3 per cent. Mean intraoperative blood loss was 1.2 +/- 0.05 liters. Hemodynamic parameters (blood pressure, cardiac output, pulmonary capillary wedge pressure, central venous pressure, oxygen delivery and systemic vascular resistance) remained stable throughout the perioperative and intraoperative time periods. In addition, we evaluated the technical modification of exclusion aneurysmorrhaphy (n = 50) versus open aneurysmorraphy (n = 19) on reduction of intraoperative homologous blood transfusion in these patients. Seventy-two per cent (36 of 50) of patients whose aneurysms were excluded received no homologous blood intraoperatively. Blood loss was decreased in the excluded versus open aneurysmorraphy group, 920 +/- 90 milliliters versus 2,030 +/- 250 milliliters, as were homologous blood transfusion requirements, 175 +/- 35 milliliters versus 570 +/- 119 milliliters. Two patients died (2.9 per cent mortality rate), and there was no increase in morbidity. Surgical treatment of large aortic aneurysms is frequently performed on an urgent basis; thus, provision of autologous blood for this operation in a short period of time may be beneficial. Isovolemic hemodilution performed during the immediate preoperative period can reduce homologous blood requirements and be safely performed without adverse effects on mortality, morbidity and myocardial performance. Exclusion aneurysmorrhaphy may further reduce dependence on homologous blood.
Limb salvage in patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) is complicated by the diffuse, obstructive, calcific arteriopathy that makes anastomotic technique especially critical. Furthermore, decreased resistance to infection and impaired wound healing produced by host-factor deficiencies such as diabetes mellitus, hypoalbuminemia, uremia, and immunosuppression produce additional obstacles to successful limb salvage. This report summarizes our experience with distal arterial bypass procedures in these patients. A total of 32 bypass procedures were performed for limb salvage in 24 patients (17 diabetic) during a period of 5 years. The operative mortality rate was 6%. During the same period, 635 infrainguinal bypass procedures were performed by the in situ technique in patients without ESRD. Primary bypass patency was comparable in both groups at 24 months (92% vs 90%). In the group with ESRD, overall limb salvage was 83% at 2 years. Life-table analysis of bypass patency and limb salvage was thought not to be appropriate in the population with ESRD beyond 2 years because of the increased mortality rate (38%; 9/24) during this interval. It is important that limb salvage was achieved in diabetic patients with ESRD in the presence of extensive foot gangrene or ischemic ulceration. Revascularization should be considered strongly for limb salvage in all patients in this difficult population.
The successful follow-up of distal arterial reconstructions for the identification of the failing bypass in the postoperative period hinges on a knowledge of the natural history of flow characteristics in these reconstructions. Over a 4-year period resting and hyperemic bypass flow, fistula flow, conduit diameter, and distal peak systolic velocity of 350 in situ bypasses were measured serially. B-mode ultrasound imaging of the entire bypass was performed to identify specific stenoses. Measurements were performed 5 to 9 days after operation, every 2 months for the first year, and every 6 months thereafter. Distal bypass flow less than 25 ml/min, a ratio of hyperemic/resting distal bypass flow less than 2.5, and vein size less than or equal to 3.0 mm inner diameter all correlated with bypass stenosis (greater than 50%) or occlusion (p less than 0.01). Contrary to previous studies, a distal peak systolic velocity of less than 45 cm/sec did not correlate with bypass stenosis or occlusion. A low distal peak systolic velocity did correlate with bypass stenosis or occlusion in bypasses larger than or equal to 3.5 mm inner diameter (p less than 0.03). However, no combination of these factors was able to accurately predict preocclusive stenosis or occlusion. Distal bypass flow was highest initially but reached a plateau 6 to 12 months after operation. Fistula flow, although very high initially, showed marked decrement with time.