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Peripheral artery disease (PAD) has been associated with severe morbidity and mortality worldwide, affecting the quality of life for millions of patients. Acute thrombosis has been identified as a major complication of PAD, with proper management including both open as well as endovascular techniques. Thrombolysis has emerged as a reasonable option in the last decades to treat such patients although data produced by randomized trials have been limited. This review aims to present major aspects of thrombolysis in PAD regarding its indications and contraindications, technique tips as well as to review literature data in order to produce useful conclusions for everyday clinical practice.

Objective. Aim of this study is to present the experience of our institution in carotid body tumors (CBTs) treatment. Methods. All cases treated in a Vascular Surgery Department within 2.5 years (03/2013–09/2015) were retrospectively evaluated. Demographics, diagnostic, and treatment strategy were recorded. All patients with known CBT underwent ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging preoperatively. All cases were classified according to the Shamblin type and evaluated by a radiologist, otolaryngologist, and anesthesiologist before and after surgery. Major outcomes included mortality, stroke, cranial nerve injury, and recurrence. Results. Overall, nine patients (mean age: 59.5 ± 16.3 years) with a total of ten CBTs were treated. There was no gender prevalence and most of the cases (55%) were asymptomatic. There were no functional or familial cases. There was only one bilateral case treated in a staged manner. No preoperative embolization of CBTs was performed. Mortality and stroke rates were null. No severe complication was observed in the early and late setting. No malignancy was recorded. Mean follow-up was 15.6 ± 7.8 months. Conclusions. Multidisciplinary management of patients with CBTs is imperative for optimal results, especially in type III tumors, bilateral or functional cases. After careful treatment planning and intraoperative manipulations, complications could be avoided even without preoperative embolization.

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Summary: Background:Proper management of patients with thromboangiitis obliterans (TAO) or cannabis-associated arteritis (CAA), presenting with critical lower limb ischaemia (CLI) remains controversial, and data are limited. Patients and methods: Patients with TAO or CAA presenting with CLI between 2011 and 2016 were retrospectively evaluated. Patients requiring primary intervention were excluded. Conservative treatment included: (a) weight-adjusted bemiparin plus six hours/day intravenous iloprost for 28 days, (b) aspirin (100 mg/day) plus cilostazol (100 mg twice/day) after discharge, and (c) strict recommendations/monitoring for smoking cessation. Main outcomes included symptom recession, ankle-brachial index (ABI) improvement, and healing of lesions at the time of discharge as well as amputation, revascularization, and abstinence rate during follow-up. Results: Overall, 23 patients (TAO: 15; CAA: 8) were included within six years, none of the patients reported any other factor than smoking. All patients presented with rest pain and 12 patients with ulcer or necrotic lesions. Mean ABI measurement at presentation was 0.46 ± 0.2, after 28 days of treatment, all patients showed improvement regarding clinical picture and ABI measurement (0.54 ± 0.1; p < 0.05). During follow-up, only three patients underwent bypass surgery and two patients underwent major amputation, although the smoking abstinence rate was very low (13 %). Conclusions: Intravenous iloprost plus bemiparin for 28 days together with per os aspirin plus cilostazol seem to produce promising results in patients with TAO/CAA, treated for CLI, even with a low smoking abstinence rate. However, larger series are needed to further evaluate inter-group differences and potential prognostic factors.