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EVF Interactive Cases

Learn from varying approaches to treatment in interventional and vascular medicine.

Our interactive case studies allow you to access detailed images, answer challenging questions presented by the author, and contribute your own opinions and experiences.

If you would like to author an interactive case study, go to case submission.

Author(s): Sandeep Bagla MD
Posted: 2/2010
Donation: $1500 to SIR

A 48-year-old female presented to her primary care doctor in January 2009 with unexplained fevers, lasting 10-15 minutes daily. She was otherwise asymptomatic. Laboratory tests revealed leukocytosis, with WBC of 14,000. Urine analysis was consistent with a urinary tract infection (UTI) and she was treated with a course of antibiotics. The patient developed symptoms of flank pain, for which a CT scan was ordered to rule out pyonephrosis/abscess, and she was found to have a splenic lesion consistent with a small infarction.
Author(s): Rahul S Patel MD; Joseph Fuller BS; Scott Wong BS
Posted: 1/2010
A 79-year-old white male presented to an affiliated hospital with a chief complaint of dizziness. His past medical history was significant for well-managed hypertension and a 9-cm AAA repaired endovascularly with a Gore AneuRx device 2 years ago at an outside hospital. On further work-up, emergent chest and abdominal CT scans were performed which showed the following (see Images 1-4).
Author(s): Tharakeswara Kumar Bathala MD; Nii-Kabu Kabutey MD; Rajendran Vilvendhan MD; Ducksoo Kim MD; Steven Deso MS
Posted: 1/2010
Donation: $1500 to SIR

A 43-year-old woman who recently immigrated from Haiti presented with a long-standing history of hypertension that she stated was first diagnosed approximately 20 years ago. She had been on pharmacotherapy for approximately 2 years, and was referred for refractory hypertension despite concurrent use of four antihypertensive medications. Laboratory tests showed hyperaldosteronism with an elevated aldosterone-to-renin ratio. In addition, medical records indicated a remote history of hypokalemia which improved with spironolactone therapy.
Author(s): Mallik Thatipelli MD, FACC, FSVM, FACPh, RVT
Posted: 1/2010
A 57-year-old male Caucasian patient referred to Vascular Medicine for severe and disabling bilateral thigh claudication. He had had bilateral aortoiliac angioplasty and covered stenting 15 months earlier, with short-term symptomatic resolution. CTA showed lower aortic and bilateral common and right external iliac stent occlusion with reconstitution of right common femoral and left external iliac arteries. The right hypogastric artery was also chronically occluded (see Videos 1 and 2).
Author(s): Shawn N. Sarin MD
Posted: 1/2010
Donation: $1500 to SIR

A 48-year-old female presented to the Emergency Department with an acute right middle cerebral artery territory stroke. Her past medical history was significant for hypertension. Work up included MRA of the neck, which revealed an aneurysm of the high cervical segment of the right internal carotid artery.
Author(s): Nii-Kabu Kabutey MD; Tharakeswara Kumar Bathala MD; Rajendran Vilvendhan MD; Ducksoo Kim MD; Claire Kaufman BS
Posted: 1/2010
Donation: $1500 to SIR

A 42-year-old G5P2 woman was referred by her gynecologist to the interventional radiology clinic for a uterine artery embolization (UAE) consultation. The patient had a chief complaint of worsening dysmenorrhea, dyspareunia, menorrhagia, and pelvic pain for the past three years. The patient’s pain had become unbearable over the past three months.
Author(s): Darren Hurst MD; Brian Burkhardt NP
Posted: 1/2010
Donation: $1500 to SIR

The patient, a 51-year-old male with a 30 pack/year tobacco history and hyperlipidemia, presented to our vascular clinic with a 6-8 month history of progressive bilateral hip and thigh claudication. At presentation he stated that he was able to ambulate approximately 25 feet before he had severe cramping pain in his hips and thighs which required him to stop and rest for several minutes before he could resume his previous activities. This was severely limiting his work and activities. He denied any history of rest pain, embolic events, or acute ischemia in his extremities. On physical examination, the common femoral pulses were diminished bilaterally, and the pulses at the feet were detected with Doppler, but nonpalpable. No other physical exam abnormalities were present. In-office ABI examination demonstrated a right ABI of 0.75 and a left of 0.71 at rest
Author(s): Sandeep Bagla MD
Posted: 12/2009
Donation: $1500 to SIR

A 55-year-old male with a history of coronary artery bypass grafting, hypercholesterolemia, and hypertension presented with chest pain. The patient had negative cardiac enzymes and underwent a stress test (see Image 1), which demonstrated anterior wall reversible ischemia.
Author(s): Mallik Thatipelli MD, FACC, FSVM, FACPh, RVT
Posted: 12/2009
An 84-year-old Caucasian male came to the Emergency Room with a 4-week history of painful blue-colored skin over the left 5th toe that had not improved with over-the-counter topical antifungal cream. He had a long history of on-and-off back pain. Past medical and surgical history was significant for TIA, hypertension, CAD, aortic valve replacement with a bioprosthetic device, and CABG.
Author(s): Timothy Clark MD, FSIR
Posted: 12/2009
Donation: $1500 to SIR

A 76-year-old male presented to the Emergency Department with a one-week history of oliguria and red-tinged urine. A Foley catheter was placed in the ER with minimal return of urine. The patient had a history of atrial fibrillation but was not anticoagulated due to recurrent epistaxis and a recent episode of gastrointestinal bleeding. His history was remarkable for coronary artery disease with a distal LAD stent placed 4 years earlier, prior ventricular pacemaker placement, prior CVA with no residual deficit, hypertension, a solitary functional kidney, renal artery stenosis (treated medically), peripheral vascular disease, and hyperlipidemia.
Author(s): Khrebtiy Yaroslav MD, PhD
Posted: 12/2009
Donation: $1500 to ISET

A 63-year-old male patient weighing 79 kg and measuring 183 cm presented to the clinic in August 2009. The year before, the patient was treated for iliofemoral deep vein thrombosis of the left lower extremity. There was trauma of the left lower extremity in anamnesis. During duplex ultrasound a floating thrombus of the left vena iliaca communis was diagnosed.
Author(s): Richard Reaven MD; Rahul S Patel MD
Posted: 12/2009
Donation: $1500 to SIR

The patient is a 51-year-old male with a past medical history significant for HIV, prior PE, end-stage renal disease, hepatitis C, and remote polio affecting the right leg diagnosed in childhood. He was admitted to the hospital for an infected dialysis graft in his arm and on physical examination the admitting intern discovered a focal area of left leg swelling. Admission orders included a left lower extremity ultrasound to evaluate for DVT as the etiology for swelling. The ultrasound was negative for DVT. However, a large pseudoaneurysm measuring 5.4 x 4.3 x 2.7 cm was identified on the medial aspect of the lower leg just above the ankle.
Author(s): Hamid Nasser MD, FRCSC
Posted: 11/2009
A 75-year-old male patient was referred in June 2008 with a 3-month history of sore right leg. He had been treated for hypertension and dyslipidemia. He smoked 20 cigarettes a day for 50 years before quitting 6 years before. Surgically he had bilateral ligation and stripping of varicose veins in the 1970s and a right femoropopliteal synthetic bypass at another hospital 5 years before. Over the last 3 months his symptoms progressed from half-block intermittent claudication to a feeling of sore leg all the time. His physical exam was within normal limits except for the scarred legs from his surgeries, absent right pedal pulses, and cyanotic right toes. His arterial Doppler showed that his resting right Ankle Brachial Index was 0.48; it was 0.92 on the left.
Author(s): Rajiv Goswami DO
Posted: 11/2009
Donation: $1500 to SCAI

A 57-year-old female without any prior history of coronary artery disease presented to us with a history of worsening exertional angina over the past 1 month. Her known risk factors are diabetes, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, and smoking. She was initially evaluated with a Bruce protocol treadmill ECG stress test on an outpatient basis. She completed 6 minutes and 30 seconds before termination due to chest pain and 2 mm ST segment depressions in leads II, III, and AVF and 1 mm in leads V4 through V6. Her chest pain resolved shortly after termination of exercise but the ST segment changes persisted 10 minutes into recovery.
Author(s): Mallik Thatipelli MD, FACC, FSVM, FACPh, RVT
Posted: 11/2009
A 74-year old Caucasian man referred to Vascular Medicine for evaluation and management of bilateral common iliac and left hypogastric arterial aneurysms and history of open repair of a ruptured AAA 10 years ago. He denied abdominal or back pain and had no episodes of blue toe syndrome, claudication, or rest pain. The CT angiogram of abdomen and pelvis showed bilateral common iliac aneurysms (2.7 cm on the right side and 2.8 cm on the left side). Aneurysms extended from the aortoiliac bifurcation to the bilateral hypogastric ostia. The left hypogastric aneurysm measured 2.0 cm and extended from its ostium to the proximal 2-cm segment.
Author(s): Tharakeswara Kumar Bathala MD; Nii-Kabu Kabutey MD; Rajendran Vilvendhan MD; Ducksoo Kim MD
Posted: 10/2009
A 17-year-old male presented to us with a history of recurrent left varicocele after varicocelectomy. The patient was not having any pain at rest, but he had mild to moderate scrotal pain and swelling after his routine exercise and games. His family was also concerned regarding his future fertility. Physical examination showed a grade III varicocele and a low-placed incision on left side. Given his history of previous surgery and location of the incision, it was decided that the best treatment option for this young patient with a concern of fertility would be to undergo percutaneous embolization in interventional radiology.
Author(s): Kimberly Nemeth DO; Jeffrey Stanley DO, FACOS
Posted: 10/2009
A 72-year-old female with a history of diabetes and hypertension presented for an outpatient CT scan to evaluate for ongoing epigastric pain that had been present for the past several months. She denied any history of pancreatitis, hypersplenism, portal hypertension, or trauma. The patient had had one uncomplicated pregnancy approximately 30 years prior to her presentation. Her hemodynamics were stable at evaluation. CT scan revealed a 5.1 cm saccular splenic artery aneurysm originating from the midportion of the distal splenic artery. The splenic artery was also noted to be originating from the superior mesenteric artery.
Author(s): Hamdy Soliman MD; Ahmed Yehia MD
Posted: 10/2009
Donation: $1500 to SCAI

The patient was an asymptomatic 16-year–old female discovered to be hypertensive during a routine general exam (BP 160/100 mmHg, with weak bilateral femoral pulsations). Cardiac exam revealed a short systolic murmur over the left sternal border. ECG was normal and chest x-ray showed rib notching. Echo Doppler study showed normal chamber dimensions and good left ventricular function. A localized aneurysmal dilatation was noted protruding from the descending thoracic aorta just distal to the left subclavian artery, with a pressure gradient of 70 mmHg across a narrow segment of the descending thoracic aorta immediately distal to the aneurysm.
Author(s): Mallik Thatipelli MD, FACC, FSVM, FACPh, RVT
Posted: 9/2009
Donation: $1500 to SVM

A 69-year-old male Asian retired farmer presented with a history of bilateral dependent ankle edema, intense pain, and tenderness over the left lateral ankle bone for several months. Pain mostly involved the left ankle and foot, which severely interfered with sleep when he lay down, as the pain was aggravated by pressure on the lower calf. He also had darkened skin around both ankles for the last 6 months. He denied local trauma, recent or remote fractures, or deep venous thrombosis (DVT); ankle x-ray was unremarkable. Past medical history was contributory for hypertension and diabetes mellitus.
Author(s): Sandeep Bagla MD
Posted: 8/2009
A 71-year-old female with a history of diabetes mellitus, hypertension, coronary artery disease, and congestive heart failure presented to the Emergency Department approximately two hours after the abrupt onset of left-sided weakness, which was noted by her daughters. There was no observed seizure activity. History was limited, as this was obtained from the daughters; however, there was no apparent history of atrial fibrillation or carotid artery intervention, and the patient was not taking Coumadin.
Author(s): Nicolas Diehm MD
Posted: 8/2009
A 46-year-old male presented with symptoms of claudication in the left lower limb that had a sudden onset about 3 months earlier. His pain-free walking capacity was limited to 50 meters. His patient history contained balloon angioplasty of the left superficial femoral artery 10 years ago in an outside hospital. Cardiovascular risk factors were hyperlipidemia, arterial hypertension, and smoking.
Author(s): Mallik Thatipelli MD, FACC, FSVM, FACPh, RVT
Posted: 8/2009
The patient, an 85-year-old Caucasian male with hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and coronary artery disease, presented with severe and disabling right lower limb claudication that had progressively worsened for 2 years. Currently, he had right calf pains upon walking fewer than 50 feet, which essentially confined him to a chair during most of his day.
Author(s): Shawn N. Sarin MD; Anthony C Venbrux MD; Elizabeth A Ignacio MD
Posted: 8/2009
The patient is an 84-year-old female with a cold left leg that has worsened over the past few days. Her past medical history is significant for hypertension, coronary artery disease, peripheral vascular disease, atrial fibrillation, hypercholesterolemia, diabetes, and right breast cancer. She had a right mastectomy in the 1980s, CABG in the 1980s, aorto-bifemoral bypass graft in the 1990s, left femoro-popliteal bypass graft in 2000, and numerous stenting procedures at an outside hospital.
Author(s): Nicolas Diehm MD; Dai-Do Do MD
Posted: 7/2009
A 65-year-old male presented with severe, lifestyle-limiting claudication of the left lower limb with a pain-free walking distance of 100 meters. Thirty-one years ago, he had undergone irradiation therapy for urine bladder carcinoma, and 26 years ago a continent urostomy procedure was performed. The patient’s risk factor background contained type II diabetes mellitus, cigarette smoking (30 packyears), hyperlipidemia, and arterial hypertension.
Author(s): Zachary Collins
Posted: 7/2009
The patient is a 51-year-old Caucasian female with history of dilated cardiomyopathy which was diagnosed 10 years ago, with an ejection fraction of 55 to 60%, and a history of pulmonary hypertension. She also has a history of chronic atrial fibrillation, chronic venous stasis bilaterally in the lower extremities, obstructive sleep apnea, anxiety, and temporal arteritis by exam only, which was diagnosed one year ago.

Contributing Authors: Bruce Zwiebel, MD; Paul Armstrong, MD; Vikash Singh, MS-III; Christopher Schrock, MS-III
Author(s): Torsten Willenberg MD; Nicolas Diehm MD; Dai-Do Do MD
Posted: 7/2009
An 82-year-old male patient was referred from his general practitioner for left-sided backside and thigh claudication. He reports increasing pain in his backside and thigh after walking a hundred yards. Uphill walking and fast walking increase the pain. A short break of two minutes relieves these symptoms.
Author(s): Mallik Thatipelli MD, FACC, FSVM, FACPh, RVT
Posted: 7/2009
A 66-year-old Caucasian woman presented with left lower extremity dependent edema and claudication pains upon walking for the last 6 months. Symptoms were severely disturbing her quality of life and her work as a hair dresser. She had left femoropopliteal venous spontaneous deep vein thrombosis (DVT) 9 months ago, for which an IVC filter was implanted prophylactically and being anticoagulated. She had not been using compression therapy since the DVT episode. She was on postmenopausal estrogen replacement therapy up until the DVT episode, but stopped after the event.
Author(s): Giovanni Celoria MD, FACS; Teseo Stefanini MD
Posted: 7/2009
The patient is a 65-year-old white male who presented with a five-day history of abdominal and left flank pain. Past medical history was remarkable for hypertension, a left pneumonectomy for squamous cell carcinoma, and a recent (four months) myocardial infarction (MRI). In the emergency department (ED), his vital signs were normal and he was in no acute distress. On physical exam, abdominal tenderness was elicited in the epigastrium over a pulsatile mass. An abdominal ultrasound in the ED revealed an abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) without any overt sign of rupture. His labs were all within normal limits. EKG showed a previous anterior MI and aspecific ST changes. A vascular surgery consultation was requested.
Author(s): Nii-Kabu Kabutey MD; Neeraj Rastogi MD; Rajendran Vilvendhan MD; Ducksoo Kim MD
Posted: 6/2009
A 52-year-old male presents to Boston Medical Center with severe abdominal pain. His medical history is significant for alcohol abuse, grade III esophageal varices verified by upper endoscopy, and recurrent upper gastrointestinal bleeding despite medical and endoscopic management.
Author(s): Ji Y. Song BS; Clayton K. Trimmer DO
Posted: 6/2009
A 55-year-old Caucasian woman presented to the Emergency Department with a 1-week history of intermittent melena and 3 episodes of hematemesis a few hours prior to admission. She reported progressively worsening severe right upper quadrant pain requiring higher doses of Indocin and morphine over the past week to control pain. Patient denied fever, chills, chest pain, shortness of breath, syncope, hematochezia, and dyspepsia. She also denied previous episodes of gastrointestinal bleeding prior to this admission.
Author(s): Mireille Astrid Moise MD
Posted: 6/2009
A 26-year-old woman with a long-standing history of Crohn’s disease and multiple bowel resections presented with abdominal pain. She was diagnosed with a Crohn’s flare and admitted for IV steroids and bowel rest. Anticipating the need for prolonged bowel rest, a right upper extremity PICC line was placed for TPN. Two days after PICC placement, she developed mild right upper extremity swelling. The next day the arm was more swollen and was very painful. On exam, she had massive swelling with 2+ pitting edema from her hand to her axilla on the right arm. She had a normal neurologic and pulse exam but very limited range of motion secondary to pain.
Author(s): Sandeep Bagla MD
Posted: 6/2009
The patient is a 46-year-old male who presented with a left parotid/neck mass in December 2008. CT imaging of the neck was performed. Biopsy demonstrated a parotid squamous cell carcinoma with mucinous features. The patient failed neoadjuvant chemotherapy and developed renal insufficiency secondary to chemotoxicity. He then underwent 3 weeks of radiation therapy to which he showed a response. He did develop a large skin ulcer over the tumor site, with deep extension to the cervical vasculature. He suffered from intermittent mild bleeding at the ulcer site. The patient was referred for plastic surgery evaluation for wound flap repair, but was noncompliant with follow-up.
Author(s): Nicolas Diehm MD; Hanno Hoppe MD; Torsten Willenberg MD
Posted: 5/2009
A 60-year-old male patient was referred from his general practitioner for evaluation of clinically evident pubic venous collaterals. The patient had recently undergone left-sided varicose vein surgery with crossectomy and stripping of the left greater saphenous vein. Following this varicose vein ablation he kept complaining about leg swelling and leg pain after 15 minutes of walking. His background contained a history of testicular cancer, which was removed successfully by hemiorchiectomy 30 years ago.
Author(s): Larry Horesh MD
Posted: 5/2009
The patient is a 29-year-old otherwise healthy male who presented with a one-month history of a dry cough, progressive fatigue, and right-sided chest pain. He was seen in the emergency room, where a chest x-ray and CT scan demonstrated an anterior mediastinal mass enveloping the aortic arch and arch vessels. An initial needle biopsy was performed via CT scan guidance but was inconclusive. A subsequent mediastinoscopy and biopsy were performed, complicated by brisk arterial bleeding. This was temporized by a partial sternotomy with placement of pledgeted sutures at the site of bleeding with control of surface bleeding. A subsequent CT scan of the chest demonstrated a 3-cm pseudoaneurysm arising for the innominate artery. (Figure 1, 2) It was felt that the lymphoma had facilitated the tamponade on this pseudoaneurysm and that the institution of chemotherapy may increase the risk of rupture.
Author(s): Nicolas Diehm MD; Hanno Hoppe MD
Posted: 5/2009
A 63-year-old male presented with bilateral buttock claudication after a pain-free walking distance of about 200 meters. Sixteen years prior to admission the patient had undergone aorto-bilateral bypass grafting for chronic distal aortic occlusion (Lériche`s syndrome). Upon admission, no details on the postoperative vascular anatomy (level of distal graft anastomosis) were available. The patient was a former smoker and had arterial hypertension and hyperlipidemia.

Author(s): Sandeep Bagla MD
Posted: 3/2009
An otherwise healthy 74 year old male with osteoarthritis had undergone total knee arthroplasty in 2000. At the time of surgery, there were no untoward complications and the patient continued to recover within an expected post operative period. The patient reported a significant decrease in post operative pain and increase in function, maintaining a high level of activity.
Author(s): Nii-Kabu Kabutey MD
Posted: 3/2009
A 40-year-old male patient was referred to the interventional radiology suite approximately two weeks after being struck in the perineum with a manhole cover. His injury was associated with significant ecchymosis of the perineum and penis. He complained of a painless persistent semi-rigid erection.
Author(s): Mallik Thatipelli MD, FACC, FSVM, FACPh, RVT; Manu Rajachandran MD, FACC, FSCAI
Posted: 2/2009
A 47-year-old AA female presented to our tertiary care cardiovascular center with a one-year history of progressively worsening swelling of lower limbs extending on to the abdominal wall associated with itching and abdominal discomfort. Her edema was predominantly dependent, which lately extended onto her face with dependency, for which she was placed on Lasix. Her past medical history was remarkable only for essential hypertension and hysterectomy for benign cause. Her mother and brothers were diabetics, but there was no family history suggestive of thrombophilia or DVT. She is non-alcoholic, nonsmoker and denies substance abuse. She is not on birth control or other hormonal medications. Her renal and liver function tests were unremarkable.

Physical examination was remarkable only for pitting type edema involving lower limb and abdominal wall.

Author(s): Nicolas Diehm MD; Dai-Do Do MD
Posted: 2/2009
A 73 year-old-male presented with rest pain of the right foot starting one week ago. Prior to this admission, he had undergone endovascular aspiration thrombectomy of the right deep femoral artery due to embolic occlusion (see Fig. 1).

Further patient history contained atrial fibrillation causing embolic stroke 18 years ago. Cardiovascular risk factors were hyperlipidemia, arterial hypertension and smoking.

Since his initial presentation, the patient had long-segment occlusion of the superficial femoral artery (see Fig. 1). One and two years prior to admission, he had undergone endovascular aspiration thrombectomy for embolic occlusion of the deep femoral artery (see Fig. 1).

Clinically, the pulses in the popliteal fossa as well as at the ankle were not palpable and the temperature of the right foot was decreased. Hemodynamic workup revealed low arterial ankle and toe pressures of the right lower extremity reflecting critical limb ischemia (see Fig. 2).

Duplex ultrasound showed a triphasic signal in the right common femoral artery indicating patency of the iliac segment but a high-grade obstruction of the mid-distal deep femoral artery (see Fig. 3).
Author(s): Sandeep Bagla MD; Keith Sterling MD
Posted: 2/2009
A 26-year-old female with past medical history significant for only episodic tension type headaches, presented to the emergency room with a severe headache. Initial laboratory tests (including CBC, BMP and urine Hcg) and a non-contrast CT scan of the head (see Fig. 1) were unremarkable. The patient denies smoking, drugs or alcohol abuse and does not take any medications, including birth control pills. Patient has never been hospitalized, had major surgery or any significant childhood illness. Social history is significant for employment with the Democratic Presidential Campaign, for which she works approximately 16-18 hours daily over the past 6 weeks. Family history was noncontributory. She was initially discharged from the ER with diagnosis of migraine headaches.
Author(s): Mireille Astrid Moise MD
Posted: 2/2009
A 74 year-old-man with a PMH significant for HTN, CAD s/p MI and a ruptured AAA repair in 2003 via a left retroperitoneal approach presented with pain in the right groin. The patient was driving when he experienced sudden onset of pain in the right groin. In the ED, his vital signs were normal and he was in no acute distress. A pulsatile mass was felt in his right groin and he was transferred to our institution for further evaluation. He denied any history of fever, chills, sweats, or weight loss. His labs were all within normal limits.
Author(s): Hamdy Soliman MD; Ahmed Sabry MD
Posted: 1/2009
A male patient, aged 67 years , is known to be a heavy cigarette smoker. He presented with grade II hypertension and mentioned that he had difficulty walking 50 meters where he had to stop as he complained of severe intolerable pain in both legs. In addition to this, the patient had chest discomfort which necessitated admission to CCU. His BP was 200/110 mmHG, HR 76/ minute, regular, with absent Pulsation in right CFA and weak pulsation of the left popliteal A and posterior tibial A. ECG showed inferior ST segment depression . Echocardiography revealed hypokinesia of the inferior wall , Posterior IVS, with estimated LVEF nearly 48%.

Duplex scan showed bilateral subtotal femoral artery obstruction. Coronary angiography and aortography was done transradial approach.
Author(s): Mallik Thatipelli MD, FACC, FSVM, FACPh, RVT; Robert Schainfeld DO
Posted: 1/2009
An 81-year-old Caucasian woman was referred to our tertiary care vascular center for 7-years history of right arm progressive swelling, since she had right auxiliary lymphnodal dissection and radiation therapy. Since 3-years she also complains of right finger bluish skin discoloration and pain of 7/10 intensity aggravated with movements or on cold exposure. The pain interfered her sleep as well as right arm use and was dependent on round-the-clock narcotics for relief. She was also intolerant to lymphedema compression therapy. She had non-healing skin ulcer over the right axilla (see Fig.1a & 1b).

The past medical history consists of right mastectomy and radiation therapy 36 years ago for malignancy and bilateral GSV ablations for varocose veins.

Author(s): Larry Horesh MD
Posted: 1/2009
The patient is a 39 year old female with a past medical history significant for systemic lupus erythematosis and end stage renal disease secondary to lupus nephritis. She has had multiple bilateral upper extremity dialysis access procedures. She was found to have a short segment right brachiocephalic vein occlusion in 2007 that could not be traversed with conventional wire and catheter techniques or with the use of the back end of a glide wire. The patient was asymptomatic outside of the anatomic occlusion at that time. The right side was completely abandoned for dialysis access and a left upper arm graft was placed in mid-2008. She had a previous dialysis catheter on the left side. She progressively developed worsening facial and neck swelling with significant lifestyle compromise. Although the graft could have been ligated with patient improvement, this patient was a renal transplant candidate and did not wish to risk her lower extremity veins for hemodialysis access.
Author(s): Mallik Thatipelli MD, FACC, FSVM, FACPh, RVT; Robert Schainfeld DO
Posted: 12/2008
A 47-year-old Caucasian woman presented to our tertiary care vascular center with 1-year history of progressively worsening bilateral thigh and buttock pain within 200- yards of walking. She had been using cilostazol without relief. Her past medical history is contributory for hyperlipidemia and long-standing heavy smoking. Family history is remarkable for CAD, PAD, and DVT.
Author(s): Nicolas Diehm MD; Dai-Do Do MD
Posted: 12/2008
An 88-year-old male patient was referred from dermatology with lifestyle-limiting claudication of the right lower limb and a slow-healing ulcer due to chronic venous insufficiency. His risk factor background contained arterial hypertension and hyperlipidemia.


Duplex sonography revealed a long-segment occlusion of the right superficial femoral artery (arising one centimetre distal to the femoral bifurcation) as well as incompetent valves of the deep lower limb veins.
Author(s): Kimberly Nemeth DO; Jeffrey Stanley DO, FACOS
Posted: 12/2008
This patient is a 55-year-old female who presented with a three day history of severe lower abdominal and back pain. She was seen at an outside hospital the day prior to presentation at our facility. There she underwent a non-contrasted CT scan of her abdomen and pelvis which was non-revealing. Upon presentation to our emergency department she had a systolic blood pressure in the 200’s and immediately had a CT scan which revealed an infrarenal abdominal aortic dissection (see Fig. 1). Bilateral lower extremity pulses were normal as well as a renal function panel (cq1). After adequate blood pressure control and a preoperative arteriogram, the patient was taken for endovascular repair.
Author(s): Bart Dolmatch, MD; Erik Weissler BS
Posted: 10/2008
The patient is a 67-year-old female with a past medical history significant for diabetes mellitus with chronic renal failure. She is 23 months status-post left upper extremity autogenous hemodialysis brachiocephalic arteriovenous fistula (AVF) construction and has been receiving regular hemodialysis. She now presents with significant left arm swelling, most dramatic over the previous 2-3 weeks. Her AVF continues to function normally for hemodialysis.
Author(s): Mallik Thatipelli MD, FACC, FSVM, FACPh, RVT; Manu Rajachandran MD, FACC, FSCAI
Posted: 10/2008
The patient is a 42-year-old Caucasian woman who was admitted at an outside hospital for sudden onset of pulmonary embolism (PE) and right ventricular (RV) thrombus, where she was heparinized and transferred to our institution. A surgical RV thrombectomy was performed. She tested positive for Heparin-induced thrombocytopenia (HIT); all Heparin products were replaced with IV Argatroban. She also had history of cervical cancer, which was treated with radical hysterectomy and which, she was told, was in “remission.”
Author(s): Samuel Baum; Constantino S. Pena MD; Rahul S Patel MD
Posted: 10/2008
The patient is a 76-year-old man that was transferred from a nearby ER on March 26, 2007. He presented with abdominal and left flank pain that was found to be secondary to a ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) measuring 7.3 cm in maximum diameter. The patient had a history of hypertension, hyperlipidemia, coronary artery disease, and atrial fibrillation. The patient was also taking a combination of Coumadin, Toprol XL, ASA, Allopurinol, Lasix, Prednisone, Clonazepam. The patient presented to the ER with improved but persistent flank pain and was hemodynamically stable. The AAA was ruptured with a favorable anatomy for EVAR.
Author(s): Bart Dolmatch, MD; Shellie C. Josephs, MD; Erik Weissler BS
Posted: 9/2008
The patient is a 49-year-old woman with history of chronic renal failure secondary to membranous glomerulonephritis. On exam, her brachiocephalic AVF is pulsatile; she has failed to reach sufficient blood flow volume for the past two hemodialysis sessions. Ultrasound shows insufficient flow volume (less than 350 mL). She has been referred for fistulography that reveals significant cephalic arch stenosis (central cephalic vein as it curves to meet the junction of the axillo-subclavian vein segment).
Author(s): Mallik Thatipelli MD, FACC, FSVM, FACPh, RVT; Manu Rajachandran MD, FACC, FSCAI
Posted: 9/2008
A 55-year old Caucasian male presented to the vascular center with a 2-week history of rest-pain and cold sensation involving the right leg and foot. He also has history of right calf intermittent claudication for several months prior to the onset of current symptom. He is markedly obese, hypertensive, chronic heavy smoker and non-compliant to medical treatment for hypertension. Physical examination revealed cold and pale right leg with absent pedal pulses, pedal skin hypoasthesia; but intact motor function.
Author(s): Barry T. Katzen MD, FACR, FACC; Samuel Baum; Ignacio Rua MD; Rahul S Patel MD
Posted: 9/2008
Patient is an 80-year-old left-handed female who presents with complaints of intermittent left hand numbness for the last month. Patient denies any seizure history or activity. Patient's medical history is significant for hypertension, lung cancer (in remission), and hyperlipidemia.
Author(s): Nicolas Diehm MD; Dai-Do Do MD
Posted: 8/2008
A 70-year-old female presented with severe lifestyle-limiting claudication of the right lower limb with a pain-free walking distance of 30 meters when walking uphill.
Author(s): Bart Dolmatch, MD; Jeffrey D. Kurzon MD; Clayton K. Trimmer DO
Posted: 8/2008
A 73-year-old female hypertensive, diabetic patient with a 5-year history of end stage renal disease requiring hemodialysis was referred for evaluation of high venous pressures during dialysis.
Author(s): David C. Lew, MD; Matheen A. Khuddus, MD
Posted: 6/2008
A 74-year-old white female with a history of hypertension and endometrial cancer was referred to us for evaluation of a possible pseudoaneurysm. The patient had previously undergone a hysterectomy and bilateral salpingo-oopherectomy one-year prior.
Author(s): Bart Dolmatch, MD; Erik Weissler BS
Posted: 5/2008
The patient is a 58-year-old female with a medical history significant for diabetes mellitus with diabetic nephropathy. Four months prior, a left upper extremity autogenous hemodialysis brachiocephalic arteriovenous fistula (AVF) was constructed. A physical exam suggests failure of AVF maturation, rendering it non-functional for hemodialysis.
Author(s): Mallik Thatipelli MD, FACC, FSVM, FACPh, RVT; Manu Rajachandran, MD
Posted: 4/2008
A 48-year-old Caucasian woman presented with an 8-year history of left thigh swelling and discomfort, aggravated by prolonged sitting, standing, and ambulation. Her primary MD diagnosed this as "lymphedema." She denied history of DVT or family history of DVT, lymphedema. She had no previous varicose veins or venous procedures. Her symptoms were severe enough to interfere with her personal and professional life.
Author(s): Barry T. Katzen MD, FACR, FACC; Nicolas Diehm MD
Posted: 3/2008
A 71-year-old male was admitted for limb-threatening ischemia of the left forefoot. He complained about ulceration of the left great toe. His risk factor background contained type II diabetes mellitus, arterial hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and mild renal insufficiency. The patient had undergone coronary artery bypass grafting and percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA) of the left renal artery 10 years prior, and was currently asymptomatic with regard to cardiac symptoms.
Author(s): Seth Toomay, MD; Bart Dolmatch, MD
Posted: 3/2008
The patient is a 32-year-old female with a past medical history significant for systemic lupus erythematosus with lupus anticoagulant and two previous mediports. After her most recent mediport became non-functional it was removed.
Author(s): Paul Morris, DO; Manu Rajachandran, MD
Posted: 2/2008
A 24-year-old Caucasian male presented to our tertiary cardiopulmonary care center with a 3-month history of recurrent hemoptysis. He denied chest pain, syncopal episodes, exertional dyspnea/orthopnea, or any other cardiopulmonary symptoms. He had no prior cardiopulmonary surgeries, medical/surgical co-morbidities, congenital cardiac anomalies that could contribute to his symptoms. He was a non-smoker and denied illicit substance usage. His family, occupational and personal histories were unremarkable. Physical examination, baseline laboratory data, and chest x-rays were normal.
Author(s): Samuel Baum; Bryan Garcia; Nicolas Diehm MD; James F. Benenati, MD
Posted: 1/2008
A 62-year-old male was referred to our practice for evaluation of an Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm (AAA) discovered on a CT scan of the abdomen and pelvis done without contrast in July, 2003 during a workup for hematuria. The initial CT showed a 7.2 cm aneurysm. The patient's risk factors include a long history of smoking and an extensive cardiac history including coronary artery disease and multiple myocardial infarctions. In 1999 he underwent three vessel coronary artery bypass grafting and had an internal cardiac defibrillator placed. During this time the patient was ventilator dependent via a tracheostomy. In 2001 he underwent mitral valve replacement and tricuspid annuloplasty.
Author(s): Gianmarco de Donato, MD; Carlo Setacci, MD
Posted: 1/2008
A 76-year-old man presented following two episodes of transient left-sided hemiplegia. Three hours after the onset of the second episode, he was admitted to our emergency room. The patient's medical history included hypertension and ischemic heart disease (including previous coronary artery stenting). He was taking 100 mg aspirin daily.

Author(s): Miguel Montero Baker MD
Posted: 12/2007
A 75-year-old female patient presents to her primary care physician with a history of increasing left foot rest pain during the previous month. Her medical history includes smoking, hypertension, and diabetes mellitus type 2. She also underwent a Femoropopliteal (p3) infrapatelar bypass in 2001.
Author(s): Mallik Thatipelli MD, FACC, FSVM, FACPh, RVT; Manu Rajachandran MD, FACC, FSCAI
Posted: 11/2007
A 68-year-old Caucasian woman presented to the primary care physician's office with a recent onset of intense pain and bluish discoloration of her left great toe. Her symptoms began when she was traveling "cross country" by car. She was diagnosed by her primary physician with "Raynaud's syndrome" and was given oral Nifedepine with no clinical improvement. She is a non-smoker and denies have any cardiovascular risk factors or symptoms of coronary, peripheral arterial disease (PAD), and cardiac arrhythmias.
Author(s): Davis V. Thomas MD
Posted: 10/2007
A 74-year-old female with a long history of diabetes mellitus presents with recent painful ischemic left foot ulcers and rest pain, which keeps her awake at night. She is on insulin and Metformin 500 mg twice daily for her diabetes. She gives a history of intermittent claudication at less than 50 meters, particularly on the left, which is being managed conservatively including an exercise program. Previous bilateral common iliac angioplasties have been performed for moderate iliac stenoses. Other relevant medical history includes hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, ischemic heart disease (including a previous coronary artery bypass graft), and osteoarthritis.
Author(s): William D. Suggs MD
Posted: 5/2004
A 57-year-old white male, who works as an elevator operator, presented with a history of a right lower extremity ulcer for five months and left lower extremity ulcer for nine months. His primary physician treated the patient with wet-to-dry dressings and ace wraps.
Author(s): Steve Elias MD, FACS
Posted: 5/2004
The patient is a 50-year old male with a history of sclerotherapy for varicosities of the medial knee and calf. The previous sclerotherapy was performed by a dermatologist. The varicosities measured 7 mm to 8 mm when standing. The patient also reports heaviness, throbbing, and itching in the distribution of the varicosities. Initially, his varicosities responded to sclerotherapy; the varicosities recurred approximately 9 months later.
Author(s): Mark H. Wholey MD
Posted: 7/2002
A 55-year-old male with longstanding history of Type I diabetes melliltus presents with crescendo transient ischemic attacks.


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