Purpose: To elucidate the indication, presentation, demographics, Stanford classification, technical efficacy, morbidity, mortality and long term patency of Wallstent for superior vena cava (SVC) syndrome.

Materials and Methods: A systematic review of literature in Pubmed and Embase, CINAHL and Cochrane Library in accordance to PRIMSA was conducted. Retrieval and extraction was performed by two independent reviewers with inter-rater reliability test. The hierarchy of the evidence was assessed through the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence Checklist. Data was subjected to pooled prevalence analysis, Cox regression, Kaplan–Meir survival and test of probability using log rank analytics. This review is registered with International prospective register of systematic review: CRD42021271009.

Results: A total of n=701 individuals with n=930 stents with median age of 60 (interquartile range (IQR): 26–89) years and male predominance 3.5 : 1 were identified in n=30 articles. The most common venographic classification was Stanford type II (n=344, 50%) and complete symptomatic resolution was achieved in 48 h. The 30-day morbidity was (n=62, 8%) and mortality was (n=21, 3%). Female gender was associated with higher 30-day morbidity (p<0.03). The cumulative median patency of Wallstent for non-malignant aetiology was [550 days (IQR: 14–1080) vs. 120 days (IQR: 0–925)] for malignancy (p<0.03).

Conclusion: The use of Wallstent for resolution of malignancy induced SVC syndrome as a first line therapy is feasible and associated with low mortality. Their use for non-malignant aetiology demands a more in depth review and advocates further investigation.

Background: There is a need for a simple method for the quantitative evaluation of lymphedema swelling. In this study, we performed a direct segmental multi-frequency impedance analysis in patients with leg lymphedema.

Methods: The subjects were 36 patients (6 men and 30 women) with 46 lymphedema legs. The average age was 61 years. All patients had International Society of Lymphology stage II lymphedema. Swelling ratio and ultrasound subcutaneous tissue echo-free space (FS) were examined. InBody 770 was used to measure the extracellular water (ECW), intracellular water (ICW), and total body water (TBW) volumes. Changes before and after complex decongestive treatment (CDT) were examined.

Results: In 26 unilateral cases, the ECW, ICW, and TBW volumes of the affected legs were higher than those of the contralateral unaffected legs, and the ECW/TBW ratio was significantly higher in the affected legs (0.41) than in the contralateral unaffected legs (0.391). There was a significant correlation between the leg swelling ratio and the ECW/TBW ratio between the affected and contralateral unaffected legs (correlation coefficient=0.882). Ultrasound findings of the 46 affected legs were classified into no FS (group 0), minimal or only horizontal FS (group 1), and cobblestone-like FS (group 2). The ECW/TBW ratio of the affected legs in each group was 0.393 (14 legs), 0.407 (10 legs), and 0.426 (22 legs) respectively, demonstrating significant differences among the 3 groups. After CDT, the amount of water decreased in the affected legs and increased in the trunks and both upper limbs. The ECW/TBW ratio decreased significantly, from 0.432 to 0.414 in the affected legs, from 0.401 to 0.392 in the unaffected legs, and from 0.413 to 0.402 in the trunks. The ECW/TBW ratio had not changed and remained below 0.4 in the upper limbs.

Conclusion: The segmental water contents measured by direct segmental multi-frequency impedance analysis correlates well with the degree of lymphedema swelling, and subcutaneous echo findings and can demonstrate water distribution change before and after CDT, which is considered to be a useful quantitative evaluation method for lymphedema. (This is secondary publication from Jpn J Phlebol 2020; 31(1): 1–7.)

Objective: This study aimed to determine the clinicopathological characteristics of cancer-associated venous thromboembolism (CAT-VTE).

Methods: A total of 47 cases of lethal pulmonary thromboembolism (PTE) with active cancer were investigated by autopsy records.

Results: We studied 22 men and 25 women who were deceased at a mean age of 66±11 years. Nine (19%) patients had recently undergone cancer resection, 14 (30%) were undergoing clinical treatment for cancer, and 24 (51%) were autopsy-proven CAT-VTE. The colon (eight cases), lungs (seven cases), and ovaries (six cases) were frequent sites of a tumor. There were 29 (62%) cases of acute PTE and 18 (38%) of recurrent PTE. The embolic source was detected in 36/39 (92%) cases. Among them, 33 cases were leg deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and 31 were calf-type DVT. Three cases were isolated vena cava thrombi that were present near the tumor. Twenty-three (64%) cases were recurrent DVT.

Conclusion: Most of the lethal CAT-VTE cases were induced by the same mechanism as non-CAT-VTE that originated from calf-type DVT with proximal propagation. However, the finding that patients had tumor-related vena cava thrombi suggested that prevention of CAT-VTE requires individualized treatment of patients according to their pathological condition. (This is secondary publication from Jpn J Phlebol 2020; 31(3): 123–129.)

Background: Improving the prognosis of patients with malignant tumors is increasing the number of patients who develop venous thromboembolism. We examined the characteristics and prognostic factors of VTE patients with cancer.

Methods: We diagnosed 725 VTE patients from April 2005 to March 2018. There were 322 cancer associated patients (CAT) and 403 non-cancer associated patients (nonCAT). We examined characteristics and prognostic factors of VTE in CAT patients.

Results: There were 156 women and 166 men in CAT, and 132 women and 271 men in nonCAT. There was no significant difference in the location of proximal portion of thrombus. When locations were divided into left leg, right leg, and bilateral legs, bilateral cases were more common in CAT group. Comparing the overall survival after VTE diagnosis in the CAT group, the prognosis was poor in patients with high D-dimer level (≧6 µg/mL) along with cancer metastasis and recurrence.

Conclusions: Various VTE factors predict prognosis in CAT patients, and CAT is important in the treatment of cancer patients. (This is secondary publication from Jpn J Phlebol 2020; 31(3): 153–159.)

Objective: To determine the outcomes following various surgical and medical treatments of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) induced acute limb ischaemia.

Methods: A retrospective study of patients presenting with COVID induced arterial ischaemia in three hospitals from Southern India during the months of May 2020 to August 2021 was undertaken. These patients were managed by either thrombectomy, primary bypass, thrombolysis, anticoagulation or primary amputation based on the stage of ischaemia and the severity of COVID.

Results: A total of 67 limbs in 59 patients were analysed. The average time to intervention was 15 days. Upper limb involvement was seen in 16 and lower limb in 51 limbs. Of the 67 limbs, 39 (58.2%) were treated by open surgical revascularisation, 5 (7.4%) by catheter directed lysis, 17 (25.3%) were managed conservatively and 6 (8.9%) underwent primary amputation. Successful revascularisation could be carried out in 88.6% of patients. A limb salvage rate of 80.6% was achieved in these patients with a re-intervention rate of 13.6%. Major amputation rate was 14.92% and mortality was 13.56%.

Conclusion: Limb ischaemia after COVID can be safely managed by open thrombectomy or bypass. Similar rates of limb salvage as in non-COVID acute limb ischaemia can be obtained.

Objectives: To evaluate the relevance of non-bridging therapy with unfractionated heparin during the temporary, pre-procedural interruption of direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) in patients with cancer-associated venous thromboembolism (VTE).

Materials and Methods: This retrospective study included 142 patients with cancer and VTE who required temporary interruption of DOACs before invasive procedures. Data, including rates of VTE recurrence, non-major bleeding, and major bleeding, were compared between patients who received or not received alternative therapy with unfractionated heparin during interruption.

Results: Sixty-eight patients were prescribed heparin, while 74 were not. There were no differences in age, body mass index, white blood cell count, hemoglobin level, or platelet count between the groups. VTE recurrence was observed in four (6%) and one (1%) patient in the heparin bridging and non-bridging groups, respectively (risk ratio [RR]: 4.4, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.50–38.0, p=0.19). Non-major bleeding occurred in three (4%) and two (3%) patients in the bridging and non-bridging groups (RR: 1.6, 95%CI: 0.28–9.48, p=0.67), while major bleeding occurred in 0 (0%) and three patients (4%) (p=0.25), respectively.

Conclusion: Our findings confirm the relevance of non-bridging therapy with unfractionated heparin for reducing VTE risk during DOAC interruption in patients with cancer.

Objective: In this study, we aim to evaluate the efficacy of early closed toe amputation on the wound management of toe ulcers with suspected osteomyelitis after revascularization for chronic limb-threatening ischemia (CLTI).

Methods: This retrospective study included patients who have underwent revascularization for toe ulcers associated with CLTI at Shizuoka Red Cross Hospital from 2015 to 2021. Wound management comprised early closed toe amputation for toe ulcers with suspected osteomyelitis (19 toes in 17 patients) or conservative treatment (35 toes in 26 patients). The primary endpoint was wound healing after revascularization. We compared the wound healing rate at 90 days and median healing time of early closed toe amputation versus conservative treatment.

Results: Compared with the conservative treatment, early closed toe amputation was able to achieve a better wound healing rate at 90 days (89.5% vs. 68.6%; P<0.01) and a shorter median healing time (19 days vs. 62 days; P=0.01).

Conclusion: There remains no established wound management for toe lesions associated with CLTI. Despite its several disadvantages including wound infection and possible foot deformity, early closed toe amputation for toe ulcers with suspected osteomyelitis can be considered a safe approach in terms of wound management.

Open repair of thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysm (TAAA) in a patient with severe aorto-iliac occlusive disease is considered to cause an extremely high risk for spinal cord injury. A 71-year-old man who had previously undergone axillo-bifemoral bypass for aorto-iliac occlusive disease presented with persistent dilation of a TAAA. Using distal perfusion via partial extracorporeal circulation at mild hypothermia, we performed segmental sequential repair of Crawford type II TAAA. Various efforts were made to avoid spinal cord injury and ischemic visceral organ damage. Consequently, the patient completely recovered without any serious complications.

The great saphenous vein is the conduit of choice for femoropopliteal or infrapopliteal bypass, but it is traditionally recommended that varicose vein grafts (VVGs) should not be used for bypass conduits owing to the risk of immediate rupture or long-term aneurysmal change. Herein, we report two cases of femoropopliteal bypass with VVGs. They achieved primary patency without aneurysmal formation after 32 and 17 months. Therefore, VVGs without morphologically conspicuous abnormalities are worth considering for usage as a vein graft.

Alport syndrome is often characterized by renal dysfunction and hearing loss due to abnormalities in type IV collagen production. In this study, we report a rare case of recurrent aortic dissections that developed in a young patient with Alport syndrome over a short period. We discuss the associations between Alport syndrome and aortic dissection with a literature review and emphasize the need for regular follow-up of patients with Alport syndrome for early detection of aortic disease.

A 68-year-old man underwent open surgical repair for an abdominal aortic aneurysm. The intraoperative period had no adverse events until postoperative extubation. His SpO₂ rapidly dropped, and severe acute lung edema developed. He had cardiopulmonary arrest. Cardiogenic pulmonary edema and other diseases were ruled out. He was finally diagnosed with transfusion-related acute lung injury (TRALI) type I. Intensive care with ventilator management and continuous adrenaline administration was provided. His condition gradually improved, and he was discharged without any sequelae. Surgical cases requiring blood transfusion should be carefully monitored, and prompt action should be taken when TRALI occurs.

Post-traumatic arteriovenous fistula (AVF) is a vascular injury complication and can present with vessel dilation, forming pulsatile varices, venous hypertension, distal ischemia, and congestive heart failure. We present a case of only pulsatile mass and leg pain caused by a 60-year-old post-traumatic AVF. Computed tomography angiography showed an AVF between the superficial femoral artery and superficial femoral vein. Surgical repair with AVF ligation was successfully performed. Traumatic AVF caused vascular and heart failure in the future; therefore, post-traumatic AVF is better eliminated as soon as possible.

Primary aortoduodenal fistula (ADF) is a relatively rare and morbid diagnosis. A 91-year-old man who developed hematemesis and melena was transferred from a community hospital with the diagnosis of a ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA). Computed tomography revealed an irregular-shaped AAA with cavities enhanced near the duodenum, with suspected ADF. The patient was initially treated with emergency endovascular aneurysm repair. Duodenoscopy showed defects of the mucosa. ADF was diagnosed, and fistulas were closed with endoscopic clipping. This case highlights the success of ADF endovascular repair.

The patient was a 54-year-old gentleman with sudden chest pain. He suffered from cardiac tamponade and malperfusion of the left carotid artery and the right lower extremity due to acute type A aortic dissection. Rupture of the aortic root and a huge entry from the transverse arch to the proximal descending aorta were found. Extended repairs of valve-sparing root replacement and total arch replacement with frozen elephant trunk were successfully performed. He was discharged without any complications. He was finally diagnosed as having vascular Ehlers-Danlos syndrome by a genetic examination.

In this study, we present a successful endovascular therapy using a small-diameter stent graft for a 73-year-old man who developed asymptomatic pseudoaneurysm of the brachiocephalic artery. An 8F sheath was placed in the brachial artery, and a stiff guidewire was advanced to the descending aorta. The stent graft was delivered to the brachiocephalic artery via the brachial approach. After the initial dilatation, the stent graft was post-dilated to maximum diameter. Final digital subtraction angiography confirmed no endoleak. We believed that endovascular for a brachiocephalic pseudoaneurysm using a small-diameter stent graft might be a minimally invasive and simple method useful in clinical practice.