Infected aortic endograft with an unusual microbe, Burkholderia cepacia

Evan E Foulke; Benjamin C Powell; Brett Salomon; Joshua Arnold; Michael B Freeman

doi:10.1016/j.jvscit.2023.101295

Infected aortic endograft with an unusual microbe, Burkholderia cepacia

J Vasc Surg Cases Innov Tech. 2023 Aug 16;9(4):101295. doi: 10.1016/j.jvscit.2023.101295. eCollection 2023 Dec.

Authors

Evan E Foulke¹, Benjamin C Powell², Brett Salomon¹, Joshua Arnold², Michael B Freeman²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Surgery, University of Tennessee Medical Center, University of Tennessee Graduate Medical Education, Knoxville, TN.
² Division of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery, Department of Surgery, University of Tennessee Medical Center, Knoxville, TN.

Abstract

With the growing use of endovascular aortic repair for aortic aneurysm pathology, multiple cases have been reported of associated endovascular graft infections. Explantation of the infected endograft and the revascularization procedure performed should be individualized with attention to the offending organism. We present the cases of two patients who underwent endovascular aortic repair with the same endograft and developed a graft infection with Burkholderia cepacia, a gram-negative organism with low virulence. Both endografts cultured Burkholderia cepacia complex; however, the organisms were genetically tested and found to be separate, unrelated strains. Both patients underwent successful explantation and revascularization procedures without any surgical-related complications to date.

Keywords: Burkholderia cepacia; Endograft infection.

Publication types

Case Reports