The Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) Releases Clinical Practice Guidelines on the Management of Visceral Aneurysms
The Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) has released new clinical practice guidelines on the appropriate care and treatment of aneurysms of the visceral arteries. These clinical practice guidelines are provided to vascular surgeons who treat patients with visceral artery aneurysms (renal, celiac, splenic, gastric/gastroepiploic, hepatic, pancreaticoduodenal, gastroduodenal, super mesenteric, jejunal and ileal). These type aneurysms make up 5% of all intra-abdominal aneurysms, and their clinical significance is related to the potential for rupture. Once rupture occurs, the challenges of diagnosis and treatment becomes greater. Increased use of intra-abdominal imaging, including MRI, MRA, CT scans and CTA have allowed for improved capability to evaluate these lesions for treatment.
Generally speaking, the new practice guidelines provide evidence-based size threshold recommendations to identify the diagnosis, treatment, screening and follow up. Open and endovascular surgical repair strategies are recognized as well as specific situations in which visceral aneurysms could be repaired at a smaller size than the thresholds (for example women of childbearing age and pseudoaneurysms).
The guidelines are 37 pages in length, and are available in PDF form through the Society for Vascular Surgery, Journal of Vascular Surgery, July Supplement 2020.
