Percutaneous Creation of a Distal Deep Venous Arterialization (dDVA)

We begin by discussing his training and background. Initially trained in Barcelona before moving to Bilbao as a young vascular surgeon. He came to the US briefly to train at Montefiore and Houston Methodist. When attending the LINNC in Europe one year he saw a live endovascular case, which is when he decided to devote his career to peripheral arterial disease (PAD), specifically below the knee (BTK) and below the ankle (BTA) interventions. He currently works with Dr. Marta Lobato, and they have done around 25 combined deep venous arterializations (DVAs) in their practice. They love this technique because it gives someone previously faced with amputation a new chance. It is a technique to reroute blood flow to get oxygen to a wound and promote wound healing. There are two types of DVA: proximal DVA, which is done closer to the origin of the posterior tibial artery (PTA), and distal DVA, which is at the level of the ankle, and usually also involves the PTA. Thus far, it is unknown which technique is better in terms of limb salvage, and data shows both techniques yield 60-70% limb salvage rates. One advantage to distal DVA is lower rates of post-DVA storm, a type of ischemic steal syndrome. Availability of devices and lower cost also make distal DVA more appealing. DVA is never the first option, traditional recanalization techniques are always explored first.

Wounds that are not candidates for DVA are large infected wounds or areas of necrotic tissue. This is because it takes 6-8 weeks to establish the newly created connection, and if the wound is already past the point of healing, DVA will not help. Other reasons DVA can fail is due to choosing the wrong candidates. Mean wound healing time after DVA is 4-7 months, so patients need to be able to commit to close follow up and wound care, and they must have the social support to be compliant with frequent clinic visits.

Finally, Dr. Ysa explains his venous arterialization simplification technique (VAST). Before the procedure, he always does a venous ultrasound to rule out prior DVT and evaluate the status of the main veins of the foot. He uses two snares via the gunsight approach, which most IRs are familiar with from TIPS procedures. It involves overlapping two snares and then performing a through and through puncture from the PTA to the posterior tibial vein (PTV). The PTA is generally used over the anterior tibial or the peroneal artery due to its robust connections with the lateral plantar and the plantar arch. He then performs balloon angioplasty (BA) on the PTV. He initially uses the PTA for sizing, but generally goes bigger, between 4-5mm. For valves, he usually does regular BA but will sometimes use a cutting balloon. Two weeks post-DVA he gets an ultrasound, and at one month he gets an angiogram to evaluate the new tract. He has his patients take a single antiplatelet and a blood thinner after the procedure. He considers DVA to have failed if there is progression of wound necrosis.