Recently, Department of Vascular Surgery of the First Affiliated Hospital of Xi’an Jiaotong University (XJTU) successfully performed the first case of small-caliber artificial vascular stent for a patient with severe arteriosclerosis obliterans of the lower limbs in northwest China, which effectively treated the occluded iliac-femoral artery and reconstructed the anatomical blood flow. Postoperatively, the patient was recovered well and discharged from hospital.

The male patient, aged 57 years, suffered from pain after lower limb activity for more than 2 years, and the lower limb pain was aggravated after walking even for less than 100 meters. After friend recommendation, he consulted Professor Yang Lin from Department of Vascular Surgery. Professor Yang Lin carried out relevant examinations and confirmed the diagnosis of ischemic symptoms caused by long-segment occlusion of the lower limb artery.

After admission, Professor Yang Lin, Attending Physician Cong Longlong, Physician Huang Xun and Physician Wang Chao delivered and completed comprehensive preoperative examinations under the guidance of Director Liu Jianlin and Deputy Director Lu Shaoying. Considering the age of this patient, the most advanced small-caliber artificial vascular stent implantation was adopted. Professor Yang Lin performed the surgery as the leading surgeon. During the operation, the patient was confirmed to suffer from long-segment occlusion of the iliac artery-femoral artery, which was treated through minimally invasive vascular puncture. Then, a small-caliber artificial vascular stent was implanted to reconstruct blood flow. The patient was quickly recovered after attentive nursing care provided by the nursing staff and was discharged today. The patient was extremely excited saying that the vascular surgery team saved his life, and sent a silk banner to show his gratitude for Professor Yang Lin's team!

The team led by Professor Yang Lin successfully implemented this novel type of surgery, which significantly mitigated surgical trauma during minimally invasive treatment. Compared with conventional minimally invasive vascular stent, the novel small-caliber artificial vascular stent has better flexibility and smaller vessel diameter, only 2 mm, which better fits human vascular morphology, yields minimal vascular damage and consumes similar cost. The novel-type stent is coated with low-molecule heparin, which can guarantee long-term patency of blood vessels after surgery and achieve the optimal surgical efficacy. The successful operation of this case signifies that the diagnosis and treatment level of vascular diseases of the lower limbs in our hospital has reached a novel height.