In the era of minimally invasive therapeutic approaches, elective open surgical treatment of visceral artery aneurysms is safe and effective, and offers satisfactory early and long-term results.

Results of surgery on asymptomatic PAAs are good-significantly better than those for symptomatic ones. Elective surgical intervention should be performed in patients with a low surgical risk and a long life expectancy when the correct indication exists. In thrombosed aneurysms, intra-arterial thrombolysis may represent an alternative to emergent surgical management. Our data demonstrated that results are similarly good in claudicants, and this fact confirms that only acute ischemia due to PAA thrombosis represents a real surgical challenge. In selected patients with focal lesions, a posterior approach seems to offer better long-term results. The runoff status and the site of distal anastomosis affect long-term patency as well.

a b s t r a c tBackground: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection has certain characteristics that enable it to play an important role in atherosclerosis. Some studies report its association with an increased risk of carotid artery plaque. Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate the presence of HCV genomic sequences and replicative intermediates in plaque tissues. Study Design: A cohort of consecutive, prospectively recruited patients with HCV infection and chronic ischemic heart disease from the Cardiology, Vascular Surgery and Hepatology Units of a University Hospital in Florence, Italy, were studied. Results: Positive-strand HCV RNA was detected in seven carotid plaque tissues from anti-HCV-positive patients and was not detected in the nine carotid plaque tissues obtained from anti-HCV-negative patients. In three patients, HCV RNA was found in carotid plaque and not in serum. HCV replicative intermediates were detected in three plaque samples. Direct sequencing of HCV RNA from the plaque and serum showed HCV genotypes 2 (five cases) and 1 (two cases). Conclusions: The novel finding of HCV RNA sequences in plaque tissue strongly suggests an active local infection. This in turn makes it conceivable that the virus may exert local action in carotid atherosclerosis.

After haplotype reconstruction, logistic regression analyses adjusted for traditional risk factors and COPD showed a significant association among AAA and AHCY, FOLH1, MTHFD1, MTR, NNMT, PON1 and TYMS haplotypes. Our findings offer new insights into the pathogenesis of AAA.

Our findings document that ACE DD genotype represents a susceptibility factor for AAA.

These findings suggest that polymorphisms in MMP2, MMP3, MMP-13, and ELN genes may independently contribute to the pathogenesis of AAA.

There is an independent association between altered levels of important thrombophilic risk factors and PAD symptoms. The clinical significance of this association needs to be tested in prospective population-based trials.

Midterm experience with placement of IBDs is associated with a low incidence of secondary procedures due to type I endoleaks and occlusions. The main reasons for reinterventions seem to be short proximal sealing zone and poor conformability of the ZBIS device in elongated EIAs.