General Surgery ; education ; Internship and Residency ; School Admission Criteria ; Singapore ; United States

Amputation ; Chronic Limb-Threatening Ischemia ; Fibrinolytic Agents/therapeutic use* ; Humans ; Limb Salvage ; Peripheral Arterial Disease ; Risk Factors ; Singapore ; Treatment Outcome

Purpose: Central venous stenosis is a recurring problem affecting dialysis access patency. Increasing evidence suggests that the use of drug-coated balloons (DCBs) improves target lesion primary patency (TLPP) in dialysis access. However, few studies have investigated the use of DCBs specifically in central venous stenosis. Thus, this study presents our initial experience with DCBs in the central vein of a dialysis access circuit. Materials and Methods: This is a retrospective cohort study of all hemodialysis patients who underwent central vein angioplasty with DCB between February 2017 and March 2018 at Singapore General Hospital. We compared the primary patency post DCB angioplasty to the primary patency of the patient’s previous plain old balloon angioplasty (POBA). Results: We observed a 100% anatomic and procedural success rate with no complications. The median follow-up period was 151 days (interquartile range, 85.5- 234 days) and no patients were lost to follow-up. The 30- and 90-day TLPPs after DCB were 93.3% and 75.7%, respectively. The mean primary patency in our study group post-DCB during the follow-up period was 164 days (vs. 140 days in the POBA group). However, no statistically significant difference was detected. Conclusion DCB showed a similar TLPP to that for POBA in treating central venous stenosis with a trend toward a longer re-intervention-free period for DCB. However, there were numerous confounding factors and a well-designed randomized controlled trial is warranted to assess the true utility of DCB in treating central venous stenosis.

INTRODUCTION: Endovenous cyanoacrylate glue (CAG) ablation for the treatment of chronic venous insufficiency (CVI) and varicose veins has shown non-inferior outcomes with an excellent safety profile, high patient satisfaction rate, and excellent efficacy when compared to the gold standard of endothermal ablation. A review of the current literature for CAG use in CVI showed that most studies and longer-term data are from Caucasian-based populations, which are subject to different anatomical venous variations and socio-economical contexts. This review aimed to gather the current evidence for CAG use in Asian CVI patients. METHODS: Asian studies for the use of CAG in CVI were included in this review. Successful ablation rates, quality of life improvement and novel complications such as glue hypersensitivity reactions are described, along with anatomical descriptions of superficial venous anatomy in study patients. Use of CAG in Singapore and Asia was addressed. RESULTS: CAG has been gaining traction as an option for CVI treatment in Asians. In Singapore, it has been adopted with comparable low complication rates and significant improvement of quality of life after treatment. As we increase our understanding of the variations in venous anatomy in the Asian population, new techniques such as retrograde deployment of the device and use of CAG ablation for venous leg ulcers have been developed. CONCLUSION Further robust evidence in terms of large randomised control trials along with cost effectiveness studies are needed to determine the true value of CAG ablation in the Asian setting.

This study aimed to examine the distribution of lower limb atherosclerotic lesions in a multi-ethnic Asian cohort with chronic limb threatening ischemia (CLTI) from Singapore. The Society for Vascular Surgery Vascular Quality Initiative registry database was used to identify 265 CLTI patients who underwent percutaneous angioplasty between June 2019 and December 2019, of whom 171 (64.5%) were male, and the mean age was 67.9±11.0 years. The majority were diabetic (84.5%) and 145 (54.7%) had chronic kidney disease (CKD). The majority of the lower limb atherosclerotic lesions were de novo lesions (598/797, 75.0%), predominantly TransAtlantic Inter-Society Consensus II C/D (451/797, 56.6%), and were moderately to severely calcified (76.3%). The anterior tibial artery and femoral-popliteal artery were the most commonly affected vessels. The mean length of the treated lesions was 14.5±13.7 cm. There was a tendency, albeit insignificant, of multi-level disease in those who were diabetic or had CKD.