Covered stents for exclusion of iatrogenic common carotid artery-internal jugular vein fistula and brachiocephalic artery pseudoaneurysm

Endovascular Considerations in Traumatic Injury of the Carotid and Vertebral Arteries

Cervical carotid and vertebral artery traumatic injuries can have a devastating natural history. This article reviews the epidemiology, mechanisms of injury, clinical presentation, and classification systems pertinent to consideration of endovascular treatment. The growing role of modern endovascular techniques for the treatment of these diseases is presented to equip endovascular surgeons with a framework for critically assessing patients presenting with traumatic cervical cerebrovascular injury.

Management of injuries near the innominate artery bifurcation using an accurate kissing Viabahn stent technique

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the feasibility, safety, and efficacy of an accurate kissing Viabahn stent technique to manage injuries near the innominate artery bifurcation.

METHODS

This retrospective study included patients with injuries near the innominate artery bifurcation who were treated with an accurate kissing Viabahn stent technique. Perioperative and follow-up data were extracted and analysed.

RESULTS

A total of 10 patients were included (mean age, 52.8 years; six male and four female patients) with injuries at the following sites: the distal end of the innominate artery (n = 2), the innominate artery bifurcation (n = 5), the root of the right common carotid artery (n = 2) and the origin of the right subclavian artery (n = 1). All were successfully treated with the accurate kissing Viabahn stent technique. During follow-up (mean duration, 16.8 months), there were no complications, such as right upper limb ischaemia, neurological dysfunction, stent occlusion or migration.

CONCLUSIONS

The accurate kissing Viabahn stent technique to manage injuries near the bifurcation of the innominate artery was safe and effective, with good perioperative and long-term follow-up results.

Endovascular Treatment of Complex Carotid-Jugular Fistula

Inadvertent complications of jugular vein catheterization are not uncommon, however, a persistent symptomatic carotid-jugular fistula has been rarely reported. A 72-year-old male with infected surgical wound after coxofemoral disarticulation for sarcoma presented with symptoms of acute right heart failure. A fistula between the right common carotid artery (CCA) and the internal jugular vein was demonstrated on Doppler ultrasound and confirmed on computed tomography angiogram. Catheterization of the right CCA seemed not possible using a conventional femoral approach due to the tortuosity and elongation of the brachiocephalic artery. A small incision in the right temporal area was used to access the superficial temporal artery and a wire was advanced retrograde into the aorta where it was snared from below, allowing for successful treatment of the fistula with a covered stent. This alternative technique may facilitate safe and stable carotid artery stenting even in patients with a severely tortuous access route due to atherosclerotic disease.