Objective To review the progress of the robotic applications in vascular surgery. Methods Recent literature about the robotic applications in vascular surgery was reviewed and analyzed. Results Robotic system is composed of surgery robotic system and endovascular interventional robotic system. The time of aortic clamping and anastomosis is reduced considerably during the robotic-assisted aorta bypass surgery, and the dissection of aorta is completed successfully in totally robotic approach. Endovascular interventional robotic system has good performance in navigation and stability, and shows apparent advantages in passing special anatomical segment and complicated lesion. However, the robotic systems are still limited in application for high cost. The problem of tactile feedback should also be solved quickly. Conclusion Robotic systems have apparent advantages and good prospect in vascular surgery. Nevertheless, it still require many clinical trials to formulate the indication and contraindication, to establish standard procedure, to assess the long-term effectiveness of the robotic systems and so on.
Objective To review the strategies on repairing elastic fibers in aorta. Methods Literature concerningelastic fiber as well as its repairment was consulted and summarized from three aspects: enhancement of the expressions ofits components, improvement of the condition of its assembly, and reduction of the destructive effects. Results Elastinis concerned as the main protein to be enhanced with three different methods including gene transfection, stimulationwith ectogenesis factors, and induction of phenotype transition of smooth muscle cell. Fibul in and lysyl oxidases show theabil ity to improve the assembly of the elastic fiber, while the related mechanisms are not clear. Matrix metalloproteinasesare regarded as the main destructive factors, and researches focus on reducing their expression as well as their destructiveeffects. Conclusion To assure a high-qual ity repair of elastic fibers in aorta, their components should be sufficientlyexpressed and effectively assemblyed, and the destructive effects caused by dangerous factors should also be reduced.
Objective To compare the advantages and disadvantages between double Perclose ProGlide crossing suture and traditional suture for the closure of 20F or 22F access points so as to provide a basis for selecting appropriate approach to repair the puncture points in endovascular aortic repair. Methods Between June 2007 and May 2011, 103 patients (115 common femoral arteries) underwent endovascular aortic repair using sheaths of 20F or 22F (outer diameter); double Perclose ProGlide crossing suture was performed for closure of puncture sites in 57 cases (64 common femoral arteries) (double Perclose group) and traditional suture in 46 cases (51 common femoral arteries) (traditional group). There was no significant difference in age, gender, or disease duration between 2 groups (P gt; 0.05). Results The operation time, blood loss, and hospitalization days of double Perclose group were significantly better than those of traditional group (P lt; 0.05). Ecchymoma in inguinal region and lymphatic leakage occurred in 5 cases (5 common femoral arteries) and 2 cases (2 common femoral arteries) of double Perclose group respectively, in 2 cases (2 common femoral arteries) and 6 cases (8 common femoral arteries) of traditional group respectively; no significant difference was found in the rate of the early complication between double Perclose group and traditional group (7.8% vs. 15.7%, χ2=1.76, P=0.19). The technique success rate of double Perclose group was 96.9% (62/64), and was 100% (51/51) in traditional group, showing no significant difference (χ2=0.31, P=0.50). All patients were followed up, 2-19 months (mean, 15 months) in double Perclose group and 2-18 months (mean, 14 months) in traditional group. Pseudoaneurysm occurred in the puncture region at 3 months in 1 case (1 common femoral artery) of double Perclose group, and incision and suture therapy was performed; no arteriostenosis or pseudoaneurysm occurred in other cases; and the rate of mid-term complication was 1.6% (1/64) in double Perclose group and was 0 in traditional group, showing no significant difference (P=1.000). Conclusion Double Perclose ProGlide crossing suture has the same effectiveness to traditional surture in repairing the puncture point with 20F or 22F, but it is superior to traditional suture in reducing operation time, blood loss, and hospitalization days.
Objective To investigate the early effectiveness of total percutaneous endovascular aneurysm repair (TPEVAR) in treating asymptomatic abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAAA) by comparing with surgical femoral cutdown endovascular aneurysm repair (SFCEVAR). Methods Between January 2010 and May 2011, 41 cases of AAAA were treated with TPEVAR in 26 cases (TPEVAR group) and with SFCEVAR in 15 cases (SFCEVAR group). The maximum tumor diameter ranged from 3.5 to 9.2 cm (mean, 5.7 cm) in TPEVAR group, and ranged from 3.5 to 10.0 cm (mean, 6.9 cm) in SFCEVAR group. There was no significant difference in gender or age between 2 groups (P gt; 0.05). Results All patients underwent EVAR successfully. The patients were followed up 6-23 months (mean, 13.5 months). No significant difference was found in the outer diameters of the delivery system for main body and iliac leg, operation time, contrast media dosage, hospitalization days, or postoperative hospitalization days between 2 groups (P gt; 0.05). The patients of SFCEVAR group had more bleeding volume and longer ICU stay than patients of TPEVAR group (P lt; 0.05). The incidence of minor complication was 7.7% (2/26) in TPEVAR group and 33.3% (5/15) in SFCEVAR group, showing no significant difference between 2 group (χ2=4.42, P=0.08); the incidence of major complication in SFCEVAR group (20.0%, 3/15) was significantly higher than that in TPEVAR group (0) (χ2=5.61, P=0.02). Conclusion TPEVAR shows safer and more effective than SFCEVAR in treating AAAA.