MR imaging and endorectal sonographic appearance of a cyst of Skene's ducts.
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Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to M Corsico.
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INTRODUCTION: We report our personal technique and the preliminary results of percutaneous implantation of intraarterial catheters connected to a subcutaneous infusion reservoir (Port-a-cath) for the regional chemotherapy of hepatic and extrahepatic tumors. January, 1996, to February, 1997 fifty patients underwent the procedure: 44 had liver cancers (42 had metastases and 2 hepatocellular carcinomas), 4 pelvic tumors (2 bladder carcinomas, one uterine cancer and one vaginal cancer), one had inoperable pancreatic tumor and one breast cancer. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The access was the left axillary artery in 45 cases, the femoral artery in 4 and both the femoral and the axillary artery in one case. The infusion catheter was placed in the hepatic artery in 44 cases, in the splenic artery in one case of pancreatic cancer, in the hypogastric artery in 4 cases and in the internal mammary artery in one case. When the catheter was positioned in the hepatic artery, embolization of the gastroduodenal or accessory hepatic arteries was performed using metallic coils; when the catheter was positioned in the hypogastric artery, the contralateral hypogastric artery and the ipsilateral gluteal branches were embolized. The catheter was then tunnelled and connected to a subcutaneous reservoir, sutured to the pectoral fascia or to the inguinal ligament. After the injection of heparinated solution, infusion chemotherapy was started the day after the procedure. RESULTS: We obtained immediate technical success in all cases. Four major complications occurred: a pseudoaneurysm of the left axillary artery (percutaneously treated by placement of a covered stent), 2 thromboses of the hepatic artery and one case of gastritis. Among minor complications, the catheter was displaced in 9 cases and 7 catheters were percutaneously replaced. Side-effects, not related to the procedure, were pain, nausea, vomiting and mucositis. During the follow-up, 7 patients died (6 for tumor progression); median catheter patency was 5.14 months. Though the aim of this work is to present the technical aspects of the procedure, we report the preliminary clinical data: radiological examinations showed partial tumor regression in 15 of 33 patients with 3-month follow-up; no change was shown in 2 patients and disease progression was found in 4; the response could not be assessed in the other cases. CONCLUSIONS: In conclusion, the percutaneous placement of intraarterial catheters for continuous regional chemotherapy is a feasible, safe and tolerable procedure and can represent an alternative to the surgical implantation of catheters in the hepatic artery for the treatment of liver metastases from colorectal cancer. The technique opens new therapeutic possibilities for the local treatment of extrahepatic tumors (such as gynecologic, vesical, pancreatic and breast cancers), even though its clinical efficacy must be assessed in selected trials.
We want to present our experience performed at the Institute of Radiology of Turin: 98 TIPS in 97 patients (in 1 patient, twice). METHODS. From March 1992, 97 cirrhotic patients (18 Child A, 48 Child B, 31 Child C) underwent the TIPS procedure for portal hypertension. The indications were digestive hemorrhage in 81 patients (20 of which performed in emergency for acute bleeding), intractable ascites in 13 patients and bleeding prevention in 3 patients. RESULTS. Immediate technical success was obtained in 95/98 cases (96.9%). Patients were monitored by US-Doppler at 24 hours, 2 months and every 6 months and by esophagogastroscopy at 2 and 6 months. Major clinical complications included CID (2 cases), hepatic failure (3 cases), renal insufficiency (2 cases), heart failure (1 case), recurrent bleeding (6 cases) and encephalopathy (15 cases). We had 5 early occlusion and 17 late stenosis of the shunt; 21 patients in this group were successfully treated either by PTA or restenting; one patient underwent a surgical shunt. Mortality rate follow-up was 0/17 among Child A patients, 7/48 (14.5%) among Child B patients and 12/29 (41.3%) among Child C patients. CONCLUSIONS. TIPS is a safe and valuable method for the treatment of portal hypertension. Though shunt stenosis may occur with a certain frequency (22/95, 23.1% in our study), a second intervention is usually effective in reducing gastro-oesophageal varices and ascites.
The transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS) is a new interventional radiology procedure which may be assisted by modern ultrasound techniques (US). Color-Doppler US can be used for patients selection, during TIPS and in the follow-up. In a 20-month period, 71 patients were examined: 3 of them were excluded because of the absolute contraindications shown by US; in 14 of the remaining 68 patients, US demonstrated relative contraindications, such as hepatocellular carcinoma, partial portal vein thrombosis and right internal jugular vein occlusion. During the maneuver, US helped to select the most adequate veins for shunt creation and was especially useful in guiding portal vein puncture, thus allowing technical success to be achieved in 65/68 patients. The mean number of passes per patient was 2.7 and no procedure-related complications were observed. US was also used to investigate TIPS patency the day after the maneuver and to monitor shunt function during the follow-up. Color-Doppler US correctly diagnosed both 3/65 early occlusions and 9/65 late stenoses; in particular, in 18/65 patients US showed gradual flow reduction through TIPS, but clinical and endoscopic findings of malfunction appeared only in 9/65 patients whose mean reduction rates exceeded 50% at Doppler US.