Surgery for Surgeons

The title of a paper published in the British Journal of Surgery is “Influence of sex on expansion rate of abdominal aortic aneurysms.” This paper describes a trial with a very interesting conclusion: “The growth rate of AAA was significantly greater in women than in men. This may have implications for the frequency of follow-up and timing of repair of AAA in women.”

The cutoff size for AAA is in Germany 50mm. I know that the NHS in the UK makes possible the treatment of such aneurysms until they reach 55mm. Since years the head of our vascular surgery considers treating of female aneurysms of 45mm. I have to tell him about this nice paper.

Thanks, Dr. Mofidi et al.! :)

First results of the EVA-3S trials were recently published in the NEJM. The conclusion is clear: “In this study of patients with symptomatic carotid stenosis of 60% or more, the rates of death and stroke at 1 and 6 months were lower with endarterectomy than with stenting.”

OK, I am a surgeon and have the thinking of a surgeon. I always had a bad feeling regarding the carotid stents. The idea of a uncovered stent, pressed against the plaques on the carotid bifurcation, made me feel uncomfortable.
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