Interventional radiology in renal neoplasms.
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Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to W Richli.
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Hepatic artery radionuclide flow studies and hepatic angiography in eight patients with various hepatic neoplasms were evaluated to determine the patterns of arterial flow distribution in the presence of portal vein occlusion. Increased hepatic arterial blood flow to the lobe or segment supplied by the occluded portal vein was observed in all patients. This phenomenon must be taken into account when positioning catheters for hepatic artery infusion chemotherapy; while it may improve the flow of chemotherapeutic agents to tumors located in the area of an occluded portal vein branch, it may also result in diversion of flow to the normal hepatic parenchyma away from tumors occupying the hepatic segments with patent portal venous flow. Hepatic angiography and radionuclide flow studies provide the necessary information for correct positioning of hepatic artery infusion catheters.
To test the ability of Gianturco expandable metallic stents to dilate and maintain patency in stenotic venae cavae, stenosis of the inferior vena cava was created in seven mongrel dogs by the percutaneous injection of absolute ethanol into the paravascular retroperitoneal space. Gianturco stents, placed across the stenotic segment, resulted in successful dilatation with improved hemodynamics in four dogs. The stents failed to dilate an occluded vena cava in one dog; in the remaining dogs, stent placement was complicated by early migration and occlusion. Gianturco stents were placed in two patients, one with superior vena cava syndrome and one with retroperitoneal fibrosis that obstructed the inferior vena cava, and resulted in immediate relief of presenting symptoms. These results should be viewed cautiously, but further investigation into the clinical use of the stents is indicated, especially for patients for whom other treatments are difficult.
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A group of 25 patients with malignant carcinoid syndrome underwent hepatic artery embolizations to palliate the symptoms of this syndrome. Twenty-three patients could be evaluated: 20 (87%) of them responded to embolization with a median response duration of 11+ months, one (4%) did not respond, and two (9%) died of complications from the embolization. The symptomatic responses correlated with two variables: (1) a decrease in the extent of the hepatic metastases in 17 of the 18 patients who had follow-up hepatic imaging, and (2) a decrease in the urine 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid values to a mean of 41% of pretreatment levels in the 18 patients for whom this test was available. Hepatic artery embolization provides the most effective treatment for the carcinoid syndrome and the hepatic metastases. Periodic embolizations will maintain clinical remissions for prolonged periods of time.
New inferior vena caval filters for percutaneous placement were made by attaching filter wires similar to those in the bird's nest inferior vena caval filter onto expandable metallic stents. These stents formed a base on which to anchor the filter to the wall of the inferior vena cava. The stent filter can be introduced through a 12- to 13-French catheter sheath system. The system was successfully tested in 13 dogs.
Expandable stents constructed of stainless-steel wire were inserted in the extrahepatic bile ducts of five animals to determine the effect of the endoprosthesis on the ductal wall. The stents were left in place 4-23 weeks, at which time the bile ducts were inspected. The bile ducts remained patent in all animals. Relatively mild reactive inflammatory changes observed in the wall of the bile ducts were more pronounced in animals with stents in place for the longest periods. A relatively small-caliber catheter (9 French) was necessary for the introduction of the stent, which acquired a much larger diameter once it was released from the catheter. This study suggests that expandable wire stents could be safely used to relieve biliary obstruction.
The effect of steroids given in greater than replacement doses on the gallium and technetium glucoheptonate brain scan is evaluated by comparing the relative sensitivity of both radiopharmaceuticals in patients both on and off steroids. The study shows a significant steroid effect on the sensitivity of 95% to 64% following steroids. Steroids did not significantly alter the sensitivity of the technetium glucoheptonate study. The superiority of the TcGH brain scan over the gallium citrate brain scan in the steroid population suggests a difference in the uptake mechanism for the two radiopharmaceuticals.