Orwa Falah

• MBBS JBVS MRCS(Ed) FRCS(Ed) FRCS Gen(Vac)
• Consultant Vascular Surgeon at University of Edinburgh

Background Endovascular technology now permits total endovascular thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysm (TAAA) repair with high volume centres reporting encouraging results. The long-term durability of such stent grafts is unknown, leading to concerns regarding their use in younger patients. This study reports contemporary outcomes of open repair in you...

Background: Since 1999, the Scottish National Service for Thoracoabdominal Aneurysms has offered repair of thoracoabdominal aneurysms (TAAAs) to a population of 5.5 million people. The open operation most commonly performed by the service is the extent IV TAAA repair. Methods: All extent IV open TAAA repairs performed at the Scottish National Se...

Epithelioid hemangioendothelioma (EHE) is a rare primary vascular tumour, usually malignant. We present the case of a 60-year-old woman who presented with hoarseness of voice and a persistent cough. During evaluation, a left supraclavicular mass was discovered. Initial assessments revealed a 30-mm left supraclavicular mass. Computed tomography angi...

Acute aortic syndromes and other acute aortic events are commonly misdiagnosed and associated with high mortality and morbidity. There is need for a blood-based biomarker to indicate the acutely unstable aorta. Plasma cell-free DNA (cfDNA) is an established diagnostic marker in prenatal testing and cancer. Its use as a potential diagnostic marker i...

Consecutive patients undergoing elective and emergency total arch replacement were included in our study. Relevant demographic and perioperative data, including 30-day and 1-year mortality alongside postoperative complications were retrospectively obtained from our electronic patient's records.

Objective In patients with abdominal aortic aneurysms, sodium [ ¹⁸ F]fluoride positron emission tomography identifies aortic microcalcification and disease activity. Increased uptake is associated with aneurysm expansion and adverse clinical events. The effect of endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR) on aortic disease activity and sodium [ ¹⁸ F]fluor...

Objectives In a proof-of-concept study, this investigation aimed to establish whether ¹⁸F-sodium fluoride (¹⁸F-NaF) positron emission tomography (PET) combined with computed tomography (CT) angiography could identify aortic medial disease activity in patients with acute aortic syndrome. Background Acute aortic syndrome is associated with aortic me...

Introduction Laparoscopic gastric banding (LAGB) is a common bariatric operation performed for obesity. Complications of LAGB commonly evolve around device malfunction and physiological changes secondary to the gastric banding. Complications of LAGB involving the aorta are rare. A case of gastric band misplacement around the aorta and subsequent su...

Background Acute aortic syndrome is a catastrophic condition characterised by medial degeneration and cellular destruction within the aortic wall. 18F-Sodium fluoride (18F-NaF) positron emission tomography (PET) detects microscopic calcification as a marker of disease activity. This proof-of-concept study aims characterise 18F-NaF PET in patients w...

A 66 year old man was transferred with a retrograde type A aortic dissection following thoracic aortic stent grafting for a mid-aortic arch aneurysm. A completely endovascular solution was impossible and he was unfit for arch replacement. A hybrid procedure was therefore performed: a 16 Â 8 mm woven polyester bifurcated graft was taken from the inf...

Complex Endovascular Aneurysm Repair in Lothian Pang D, Grossart C, Falah O, Tambyraja A. Introduction Fenestrated endovascular aneurysm repair (FEVAR) and Branched endovascular aneurysm repair (BEVAR) are novel bespoke endovascular solutions for complex aortic aneurysm. We report the short and medium terms outcomes of this service in NHS Lothian....

The aim of using virtual reality (VR) as a medical training tool is to offer additional means to teach students and to improve the quality of medical skills. A novel system was developed to fulfil the requirements of modern medical education and overcome the challenges faced by both students and lecturers in the process of knowledge transfer. A hea...

Embryology is taught to undergraduates in a variety of health sciences, largely depending on traditional teaching methods. The human embryo's development is complex and dynamic, and to digest all the related facts, students are always searching for educational tools to enhance their learning experience. Virtual Reality (VR) is a promising technolog...

Image of the Month - June 2018 - An unusual cause of extensive bilateral lower limb oedema Rachael Forsythe and Orwa Falah, Edinburgh An 84 year old male presented with sudden onset massive bilateral lower limb swelling and a 4 day history of vague abdominal pain and swelling. He had no previous similar episodes; otherwise fit and well. Still worki...

The field of education is an ever-evolving area constantly enriched by newly discovered techniques provided by active research in all areas of technologies. The recent years have witnessed the introduction of a number of promising technologies and applications to enhance the teaching and learning experience. Virtual Reality (VR) applications are co...

Pre-Operative Assessment predicts outcome in open Type IV TAAA Repair DST Chong1, I Said1, A Tambyraja1, O Falah1, C Moores1, A Nimmo1, RTA Chalmers1 1Edinburgh Vascular Surgery Unit, Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, Edinburgh Objective To examine the results of pre-operative assessment for patients with Extent IV thoraco- abdominal aneurysm (TAAA) an...

Methods Results Introduc*on Thoraco-­‐abdominal aorBc aneurysms (TAAAs) are relaBvely rare but associated with significant morbidity and mortality. 1-­‐2 Historically they have been treated by open repair, however thoracic endovascular aorBc repair (TEVAR) has been a success and is associated with lower rates of mortality and morbidity than the tra...

Contemporary outcomes of ruptured thoracic and thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysm Miller J, Tambyraja AL, Falah OF, Burns PJ, Chalmers RT. Introduction: Rupture of thoracic or thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysm (TAA/TAAA) is often considered uniformly fatal. Surgical repair is complex, and demands specialist multidisciplinary teams for optimal care. T...

Cost, Quality and Service Delivery 0572,Posters of Distinction Infected Femoral Pseudoaneurysms - What's The Cost? D. Ablett*, H. Morris, H. Nair, O. Falah, P. Burns Edinburgh Royal Infirmary, Edinburgh, UK Aims: The aim was to examine clinical outcomes in intravenous drug users (IVDU’s) admitted with infected pseudoaneurysms and calculate the fina...

Intravenous drug users presenting with infected femoral pseudoaneurysms present a significant challenge to a vascular surgery unit. This poster presents a 3 year study looking at outcomes, length of stay and associated healthcare costs and demonstrates the significant burden that this patient population place on vascular surgery services.

Paralysis is a devastating complication after thoracic-abdominal aortic interventions. We reviewed our 12 year experience in the use of cerebrospinal fluid drainage to prevent spinal cord ischaemia and to assess the management and outcomes in patients who developed a peri-operative neurological deficit. If post-operative neurological deficit does...

Hyperimmunoglobulin E syndrome is a rare primary immunodeficiency disorder defined by high serum immunoglobulin E titers and associated with characteristic infectious, dermatologic, skeletal, and dental abnormalities. We present the case of a 27-year-old man presenting acutely with a ruptured type IV thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysm. He was success...

To determine whether patients attending as emergencies with ruptured AAA could have been detected opportunistically prior to rupture. Retrospective analysis. The notes of patients attending hospital with ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysms to four City and DGH hospital in the West of Scotland were examined for previous assessments or investigations...