January’s top 10 highlights new guidelines from the European Society for Vascular Surgery (ESVS), an expert consensus roundtable on the benefits of intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) in lower extremity revascularisation procedures, and US FDA approval for the Gore Excluder thoracoabdominal branch endoprosthesis (TAMBE) among other key updates in the vascular space.
The updated European Society for Vascular Surgery (ESVS) 2024 clinical practice guidelines for the care of patients with aneurysms of the abdominal aorta and iliac arteries have been published in the European Journal of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery. Here, Anders Wanhainen (Uppsala, Sweden) and Isabelle Van Herzeele (Ghent, Begium)—chair and co-chair of the guideline writing committee, respectively—highlight some important updates from the new document for vascular specialists and policy makers alike.
2. Gore receives US FDA approval for breakthrough endovascular device in complex aortic aneurysms
Gore has announced US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for the Gore Excluder thoracoabdominal branch endoprosthesis (TAMBE), which the company states is the first off-the-shelf endovascular solution for the treatment of complex aneurysmal disease involving the visceral aorta.
3. Insights from the Intervention Master Aortic Course 2023
The Intervention Master Aortic Course (IMAC) Board provides an overview of the most recent iteration of its annual event, which in 2023 took place in Cairo, Egypt. The event featured a Charing Cross (CX) session introduced by the late Roger Greenhalgh.
Endologix recently announced that the US Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has granted a Transitional Pass-Through (TPT) payment for the Detour system, effective since 1 January 2024.
5. Evidence, timing and medical therapy: Key carotid questions addressed at VSASM 2023
Extolling the benefits of evidence-based practice, timely surgical intervention and intensive medical therapy, Dominic PJ Howard (Oxford, UK) spoke at the Vascular Society of Great Britain and Ireland’s (VSGBI) 2023 annual scientific meeting (VSASM; 22–24 November, Dublin, Ireland) on what needs to be known regarding carotid disease management.
6. First patients enrolled in Gore’s VBX FORWARD clinical study
Gore has announced that the first patients have been enrolled in the Gore VBX FORWARD clinical study, a global prospective, multicentre, randomised controlled trial to compare the Gore Viabahn VBX balloon expandable endoprosthesis (VBX stent graft) to bare metal stenting for patients with complex iliac occlusive disease.
7. Simona Zannetti returns to Medtronic to lead aortic business
Medtronic recently announced that Simona Zannetti has been appointed as the general manager of its aortic business. Zannetti previously spent 21 years at Medtronic. She returns after serving as senior vice president of clinical research at Penumbra, where she helped drive the strategic and commercial business goals of the company as a member of the senior leadership team.
A dedicated session at the 2023 VEITHsymposium (14–18 November, New York, USA) aimed to unpack the ways in which clinical practice and attitudes in the field of chronic limb-threatening ischaemia (CLTI) have changed since the BEST-CLI trial was published back in November 2022. The trial’s principal investigators (PIs)—vascular surgeons Alik Farber and Matthew Menard and interventional cardiologist Kenneth Rosenfield (all Boston, USA)—invited a multidisciplinary panel of opinion leaders from both the USA and Europe to share their thoughts and highlight some unanswered questions.
9. SCAI, SIR, and SVS jointly publish proceedings from multispecialty peripheral IVUS roundtable
Proceedings from an expert consensus roundtable that discussed the benefits of intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) in lower extremity revascularisation procedures have been released in the Journal of the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography & Interventions (JSCAI), Journal of Vascular and Interventional Radiology (JVIR), and Journal of Vascular Surgery: Vascular Insights.
10. Nectero Medical announces initiation of Phase II/III clinical trial of the Nectero EAST system
Nectero Medical has announced initiation of a Phase II/III clinical trial (stAAAble) to investigate the safety and efficacy of the Nectero Endovascular Aneurysm Stabilisation Treatment (Nectero EAST) system in patients with infrarenal abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAAs), maximum diameter 3.5–5cm.
