Direct puncture of an occluded common femoral artery as a new approach for endovascular aortic aneurysm repair

Abstract

Background Abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA) which present with a hostile access are not uncommon. When an arterial occlusion continuously involves from the iliac to the femoropopliteal artery, endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR) can become complex, necessitating an adjunctive surgical procedure. The present report outlines a successful EVAR which was conducted without any adjunctive surgical procedure for an AAA complicated by extensive access vessel occlusion. Case presentation The patient, an 82-year-old male, had a fusiform 50 mm infrarenal AAA. He had a history of above knee amputation of the right leg due to a gangrene from Buerger’s Disease. Despite the continuous occlusions of the right external iliac artery (EIA), common femoral artery (CFA), and superficial femoral and profunda femoris artery, limb ischemia was not observed in his right leg. Since revascularization of the occluded right iliac and femoral arteries was deemed to be too complex technically and no ischemic symptoms were observed, EVAR was performed using the occluded access only for the delivery of the stent graft without restoring the flow. Firstly, the occluded right CFA was punctured under ultrasound guidance. Next, a 0.014 in. guidewire and a microcatheter were successfully navigated to the subintimal space of the right common iliac artery (CIA), these were then exchanged with a reentry device. The reentry device allowed the advancement of a guidewire into the true lumen of the right CIA. Then, a 12Fr sheath for delivery of a contralateral limb was advanced via the occluded right access to aorta, and a 16 Fr sheath for delivery of a main body graft was advanced via a patent left iliac artery. A standard EVAR procedure was subsequently performed. Conclusions EVAR was successfully performed for an AAA complicated with an arterial occlusion from the EIA to the SFA using direct puncture of the occluded CFA. This technique could be an effective measure for cases with a hostile access involving the CFA.

Endovascular repair of an abdominal aortic aneurysm with external iliac artery occlusion using VBX as the contralateral leg via axillary delivery: A case report

“…Solutions for cases of hostile access include the surgical conduit or internal endo-conduit method, or a more complicated approach. [ 7 ] The internal endo-conduit method is often the first choice for iliac artery occlusion. In this case, the endo-conduit approach required a thromboendarterectomy of the right CFA.…”