Implantation of the wireless pressure sensor is safe, and remote aneurysm sac pressure sensing is feasible. It was a valuable guide in evaluating the completeness of the EVAR procedure. Long-term study will be needed to prove its efficacy for postoperative surveillance.

PTX Single-Arm Study Investigators. The Zilver V R PTX V R single arm study: 12-month results from the TASC C/D lesion subgroup. J Cardiovasc Surg (Torino) 2013;54:115-122. 23. Zeller T, Peeters P, Bosiers M, et al. Heparin-bonded stent-graft for the treatment of TASC II C and D femoropopliteal lesions: The Viabahn-25 cm trial.

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The development of a homemade device for in vivo human determination of the open circuit potential (OCP) of Nitinol is described. Pseudo-reference electrodes (316L stainless steel and Pt) were initially tested and validated in vitro using simulated body fluids. As judged from the excellent electrochemical responses in terms of both accuracy and precision, the most ideal system comprised the combination of sterilized Pt (pseudo-reference) and Nitinol (working) needle-shaped electrodes. The average in vivo human OCP determined from independent measurements on six human patients with indication of direct arterial surgery was -0.334 +/- 0.030 V/SCE. This value was in good agreement with data recorded in vitro using simulated body fluids (-0.313 +/- 0.003 V/SCE in AFNOR S90-701 artificial saliva; -0.334 +/- 0.001 V/SCE in artificial urine; -0.239 +/- 0.007 V/SCE in Ringer's solution). The thin surface film protecting the bulk NiTi alloy is therefore not susceptible to active dissolution at rest as long as the break down potentials (>>0.0 V/SCE) so far reported are well above OCP measured in this study. These results highlight the importance of evaluating the corrosion resistance of Nitinol under realistic conditions (mechanical loads, wear and fatigue) in order to establish multifaceted mechanisms that might lead to accelerated dissolution and failure of implanted stents.

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We describe a case of Kommerell's diverticulum involving the distal portion of a right-sided aortic arch and the origin of an aberrant left subclavian artery (LSA). The patient underwent a total endovascular repair with the use of a modified Valiant endograft (Medtronic, Minneapolis, Minn) to which a branch was attached to keep LSA patency. Postoperative computed tomography showed complete exclusion of the lesion, without endoleaks. The use of "customized off-label" devices to treat special conditions was feasible in this case, keeping patency of the LSA without risk of arm claudication or the requirement for a complementary surgical bypass.

In a randomized, blind study, both the antithrombotic efficacy (reduction of thrombus weight) and potency (anti-Xa activity) of several commercially available low-molecular-weight heparins (LMWHs) were compared with those of unfractioned heparin (UFH) and placebo. Three different thrombogenic challenges were used: venous thrombosis was induced by direct endothelial damage in 60 New Zealand rabbits (group I), intracarotid injection of bovine thrombin in an additional series of 60 rabbits (group II), or after inferior-vena-cava ligature in 60 Wistar rats (group III). The drugs were administered subcutaneously 2 h before surgery in a blind fashion. The doses recommended for clinical practice were used (adjusted by body weight), except in group II animals, in whom doses were doubled. No differences were found between UFH and most LMWHs in terms of reduction of thrombus weight in group I animals. But UFH showed a weaker antithrombotic efficacy in the other two models. Similarly, one of the LMWHs used (Clexane) proved to be not as effective as the remainder. However, only clinical studies will provide enough information to verify these differences. Additionally, our findings confirm that the antithrombotic efficacy of a given drug differs according to the stimulus used to induce venous thrombosis.