Predictive value of peak systolic velocity for the development of graft limb complications after endovascular aneurysm repair.

PurposeTo determine the role of peak systolic velocity (PSV) data provided by duplex ultrasound (DUS) surveillance in the prediction of endograft limb complications after endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR).MethodsAll 478 consecutive patients (425 men; mean age 75±7 years) who underwent infrarenal EVAR between 2004 and 2010 had DUS scans at 1.5, 3, 6, 9, 12, and 18 months and annually thereafter over a median follow-up of 43 months (range 1–92). In a retrospective study, the PSV recorded from the proximal and distal regions of each stent-graft limb was extracted from each postoperative DUS scan for each patient up to the penultimate scan before diagnosis of a limb complication (limb occlusion, symptomatic or hemodynamically significant kinking, or hemodynamically significant DUS-defined stenosis) requiring reintervention. The median (range) PSV readings from the proximal and distal regions of each stent-graft limb over the course of follow-up were compared between patients who developed a limb complicatio...