April’s top 10 sees a product announcement from Terumo Aortic take the top spot, with highlights from the 2023 Charing Cross (CX) International Symposium (25–27 April, London, UK) also proving popular among readers.
1. Terumo Aortic announces first implant of custom-made thoracoabdominal hybrid device in North America
Terumo Aortic announced the first North American implant of a custom-made hybrid device, Thoracoflo.
2. Initial cases indicate lithotripsy can help TCAR expand into high-risk patients
Lithotripsy may hold the key to enabling more carotid artery disease patients who require calcification treatment to undergo stent placement via a transcarotid artery revascularisation (TCAR) procedure, as per single-centre experiences presented at the recent Society for Clinical Vascular Surgery (SCVS) annual symposium (25–29 March 2023, Miami, USA) by Kathryn DiLosa with principal investigator Misty Humphries (both University of California Davis, Sacramento, USA).
AVS, an early-stage medical device company focused on safely and effectively treating severely calcified arterial disease with its pulsatile intravascular lithotripsy (PIVL) therapy, has announced that it closed an additional US$8.8 million in new financing, bringing its Series B round to US$28.8 million total.
4. Robotic surgery: “We have missed the boat on this,” says Houston vascular chief
An emerging programme at Houston Methodist aims to help prod those practicing in the vascular surgical space deeper into the field of robotic surgery.
5. ESRD strongly associated with adverse limb events in new study
A new investigation into the association between end-stage renal disease (ESRD) and major adverse limb events (MALEs) has found that not only is it strong, but ESRD is particularly associated with below-knee amputation. The details of the study were presented at the Society of Interventional Radiology (SIR) Annual Scientific Meeting (4–9 March, Phoenix, USA).
6. BASIL-2 points towards endovascular-first revascularisation strategy in CLTI patients
A question from Manj Gohel (Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Cambridge, UK) on what the Charing Cross (CX) audience should take back to their multidisciplinary team meetings from the first-time presentation of BASIL-2 led chief investigator Andrew Bradbury (University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK) to deliver the stark message: a patient who needs a below-the-knee revascularisation with or without a femoropopliteal revascularisation is likely to do better if they are treated with a best endovascular-first strategy rather than a vein bypass-first approach.
7. Vascular community split over “death” of traditional carotid stenting
A debate between two prominent carotid interventionists—Peter Schneider (University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, USA) and Domenico Valenti (King’s College London, London, UK)—at the 2023 Charing Cross (CX) International Symposium (25–27 April, London, UK) revealed that the vascular community is currently divided over the benefits of transcarotid artery revascularisation (TCAR), as compared to percutaneous carotid artery stenting (CAS).
Two early adopters of Fiber Optic RealShape (FORS; Philips) share their expert opinions on the developing technology, highlighting its future potential in reducing radiation and increasing procedural efficiency.
9. Society for Vascular Surgery Vascular Quality Initiative reaches milestone 1,000 centres mark
The Society for Vascular Surgery Vascular Quality Initiative (SVS VQI) clinical registry recently announced it has achieved another milestone, with more than 1,000 centres enlisted in VQI registries. This achievement will strengthen vascular care, improve outcomes and underscore the value of real-world data in analysing outcomes and reducing resource utilisation, a press release reports.
Surmodics has announced that Ankur Lodha (Cardiovascular Institute of the South, Lafayette, USA) and Pradeep Nair (Cardiovascular Institute of the South, Houma, USA) were the first physicians to use the company’s Sublime radial access microcatheter.
