Innovative Questions in Vascular Surgery Addressed at the 39th Annual VEITHsymposium In New York.
At the 39th VEITHsymposium, vascular experts will provide trial results and insight into some novel questions in vascular surgery, including new wound healing materials, vascular obstructions in multiple sclerosis, endovascular approaches to upper extremity disease and vascular treatment for erectile dysfunction.
Wednesday, November 14: Dressing material for donor site wounds (DSWs) after split-skin grafting: Dr. Fleur E Brölmann of the Academic Medical Center at the University of Amsterdam (Netherlands) will present the results of a multicenter randomized trial of wound dressings. In the study, researchers compared six commonly-used dressing materials for donor-site wounds after split-skin grafting in 289 patients. They found that that hydrocolloid dressings lead to a shorter healing time than the other materials. In contrast, gauze dressings were found to increase the risk of infection.
Thursday, November 15: Multiple Sclerosis and Chronic Cerebrospinal Venous Insufficiency: The existence of chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency and its possible role in multiple sclerosis remain controversial. Dr. Andrew Nicolaides, Director of the Vascular Noninvasive Screening and Diagnostic Centre (London, United Kingdom), will discuss the data, which support the hypothesis that in the absence of cerebral venous obstruction, MS does not manifest or is mild in form. However, when accompanied by obstruction of these vessels, MS can take on more severe symptoms.
Thursday, November 14: Endovascular Therapy for Vasculogenic Erectile Dysfunction: It’s estimated that up to 50% of men with erectile dysfunction have an inadequate response to phosphodiesterase-5 inhibitor (PDE-5i) therapy (e.g. sildenafil) therapy and discontinue this treatment. As a result, there is renewed interest in the diagnosis and management of vasculogenic ED, according to Dr. Krishna Rocha-Singh, Clinical Professor of Medicine, Southern Illinois School of Medicine (Springfield, IL) will address this condition. Newer tools such as drug-eluting stents (DES) also have renewed the interest in this field. However, the feasibility of endovascular therapy for ED poses several questions, such as the appropriate diagnostic evaluation of vasculogenic ED, and the safety of DES-based therapies in this population.
Saturday, November 17: Bypasses for Hand Digital Ischemia: Arterial reconstruction of occlusive disease in the upper extremity has been reported sparingly, in contrast to bypass of lower extremity occlusive disease. Reports of arterial reconstructions to infracarpal arteries are rare and involve a small number of patients. Dr. R. Clement Darling III presents the Results of a Registry Review of 20 years of Data on Patients Who Underwent Arterial Reconstructions to Outflow Vessels, Distal to the Carpal Bones in Patients with Severe Pain with Loss of Function or Tissue Loss Involving the Digits. For the 115 procedures performed, the cumulative patency of all patients was 87% at 1 and 5 years. The researchers concluded that that critical ischemia of the upper extremity should be as aggressively evaluated and managed as critical ischemia in the lower extremity. Dr. Darling is the Chief of Vascular Surgery at Albany Medical Center Hospital (Albany, NY).
Saturday, November 17: Current Status Of Silver Impregnated Grafts To Treat Aortic Infection: Dr. Max Zegelman, argues that vascular specialists in the United States are being denied a valuable treatment adjunct — silver protected grafts for patients with aortic infection. Based on clinical results from Krankenhaus Nordwest in Frankfurt am Main – where Dr. Zegelman heads vascular and thoracic surgery – and available literature, silver-coated vascular grafts are an effective tool for treating patients with vascular graft infections using in-situ reconstructions. The associated rates for re-infection and mortality have been acceptably low.
Source: VEITHsymposium.
