Aortoiliac Occlusive Disease

Peripheral arterial disease involving the iliac arteries is a common manifestation of systemic atherosclerosis and a major cause of lifestyle-limiting claudication and chronic limb-threatening ischemia. Endovascular iliac artery stenting has become the preferred treatment strategy for most iliac lesions, including complex TransAtlantic Inter-Society Consensus II (TASC II) C and D lesions, owing to high technical success rates and lower perioperative morbidity compared with open surgical reconstruction. Despite widespread adoption of endovascular treatment, available evidence regarding predictors of major adverse limb events (MALE) after iliac artery stenting remains limited, particularly in unselected real-world populations with substantial comorbidity burden. Patient-related factors, including frailty, may contribute to post-procedural outcomes in addition to lesion-related characteristics. This retrospective single-center cohort study will evaluate clinical outcomes following endovascular iliac artery stenting in consecutive adult patients treated at IRCCS Galeazzi-Sant'Ambrogio Hospital, Milan, Italy. The study will assess the occurrence of major adverse limb events (MALE), primary patency, peri-procedural complications, target lesion revascularization, restenosis or occlusion, and all-cause mortality. Clinical, anatomical, and procedural factors associated with adverse limb outcomes, including frailty assessed by the modified five-item Frailty Index (mFI-5), will also be investigated.

The study will assess the safety and effectiveness of the GORE® VIABAHN® VBX Balloon Expandable Endoprosthesis ("VBX Device" or also referred to as "VBX Stent Graft") in a post approval setting and evaluate the quality of the use in covered endovascular reconstruction of the aortic bifurcation (CERAB) to treat Aortoiliac Occlusive Disease (AIOD).

The objective of this prospective, multicenter, randomized, controlled clinical trial is to demonstrate the superiority of the VBX Device for primary patency when compared to bare metal stenting in complex iliac occlusive disease.

The goal of this pilot study is to compare single shot rectus sheath blocks of liposomal bupivacaine/bupivacaine mixture to bilateral rectus sheath catheters infused with ropivacaine (standard of care at our facility) in patients undergoing vascular surgery with an open mid-abdominal laparotomy incision. This study will assess the safety and feasibility of this approach compared to standard of care. Participants will receive either a single dose of liposomal bupivacaine/bupivacaine mixture intraoperatively at the end of surgery through bilateral rectus sheath blocks (LB/B group) or the standard of care ropivacaine intraoperatively at the end of surgery through bilateral rectus sheath blocks with the insertion of bilateral RS catheter for continuous ropivacaine infusion plus repeated daily boluses (Catheter group; standard care). They will be assessed for differences in the rate of postoperative complications, resources consumed with each intervention, as well as postoperative pain scores, opioid consumption, hospital and PACU length of stay, patient's satisfaction, and quality of recovery, and hospital length of stay.

Background: The treatment of patients with complex aortoiliac disease (AID), classified as Trans-Atlantic Inter-Society consensus II (TASC) class C and D, presents a dilemma for vascular surgeons. Current guidelines recommend either open surgical reconstruction (OR), hybrid repair (HR) combining iliac stenting with femoral endarterectomy, or total endovascular repair (ER). While traditional OR with aortobifemoral bypass (ABF) is associated with excellent long term patency results, it is associated with significant perioperative morbidity with some studies citing mortality rates of up to 4-8%. The advancement of endovascular techniques has led to many trials suggesting that endovascular management of TASC II C and D lesions is a potential alternative treatment to open strategies mainly in the subset of patients with high surgical risk, given the substantially less perioperative morbidity and mortality compared to OR. Aim: The aim of this trial is to evaluate the short, mid-, and long-term results of open repair, hybrid and endovascular repair in the treatment patients with complex, TASC C and D, aortoiliac lesions. Methodology: This is a retrospective cohort study planning to include vascular surgery centers from the following countries: Italy, Portugal, Spain, and Serbia. Data will be collected on demographics, baseline comorbidities, anatomy and morphology of the aortoiliac and femoral bifurcation disease, intraoperative, postoperative, and follow-up data. Propensity score analysis will be performed by matching open repair patients in all three groups (open, hybrid, and endovascular repair) controlling for demographics, baseline comorbidities, anatomical and morphological data. Endpoints: Primary endpoints are all-cause mortality and the major adverse limb events (major amputation - below and above the knee, new onset acute limb ischaemia, reintervention of the treated arterial segment). The secondary endpoints are the 30-day complications and primary patency.