Value of an endovascular suite in the operating room

The purpose of this study is to describe the advantages and value of an endovascular suite in the operating room from a vascular surgeon's perspective. All endovascular procedures were performed in a specially equipped operating room by vascular surgeons using digital flouroscopic imaging equipment. Between January 1, 1994 and August 31, 1996, intraoperative balloon angioplasties were attempted by vascular surgeons in 102 patients with insertion of 22 stents. Angioplasties were performed for stenoses in 50 arterial bypasses and 25 iliac, 17 femoral and 10 popliteal arteries proximal or distal to arterial grafts. Sixty-two procedures were performed concomitantly with a surgical bypass and 40 were performed as the sole procedure (30 percutaneous, 10 open) in patients who had previously undergone a bypass. There were five technically unsatisfactory results which were converted to surgical procedures and one postoperative hematoma that required surgical repair. Ninety of the 102 grafts remained patent more than 1 month after the procedure. Establishment of an endovascular operating room suite enables vascular surgeons to perform adjunctive endovascular procedures concomitantly with vascular surgery and treat unexpected findings in the operating room amenable to endovascular intervention without requesting other interventionalists to participate on an emergent basis.