Endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR) has a lower 30-day mortality rate than open abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) surgery in trials, but rates may not be as low in a real-world setting. Researchers who compared findings from a national clinical database against a recent trial believe the difference may be in the patient cohort’s pre-existing health status.

Northside Hospital Healthcare System continues to lead the Southeast in state-of-the-art surgical services with the introduction of three advanced robotic surgery technologies: The Magellan Robotic System, the da Vinci Xi Surgical System and the MAKOplasty surgical arm.

Drug-eluting balloons (DEBs) gave patients with early, recurrent and significant in-stent carotid artery restenosis longer freedom from restenosis in a trial published in the October issue of the Journal of Endovascular Therapy. More than half of patients in this small cohort were symptom-free at a mean follow-up of 36.6 months.

It may look like a fielder’s choice between carotid artery stenting and endarterectomy for patients with carotid artery stenosis, with conclusions from one recent analysis and another randomized trial leaning in opposite directions. 

In the battle between endarterectomy and carotid artery stenting, the patient emerged as the ultimate victor in a study published online Oct. 14 in The Lancet. Both approaches proved to be equally effective at preventing severe stroke at 10 years, giving physicians a green light to choose the treatment that best fits the individual patient.

Atherosclerotic patients in a real-world setting did better when carotid endarterectomy (CEA) was used as opposed to carotid angioplasty and stenting (CAS). Contradictory to some earlier prospective studies, at no point did researchers find equipoise between the two procedures. 

Efforts to bring low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels within guideline parameters fall short with stroke. Only one in five patients at high risk for recurrent stroke met recommendations for LDL cholesterol levels below 70 mg/dL, according to results published online Oct. 9 in Stroke.

The FDA approved a drug-coated balloon (DCB) as a treatment for peripheral artery disease, making it the first DCB to be approved in the U.S. for use in the superficial femoral and popliteal arteries.