Novel Utility of Amplatzer Septal Occlusion Device to Treat Persistent Aortocaval Fistula following Ruptured Endovascular Aortic Aneurysm Repair (rEVAR).

Aortocaval fistulas following endovascular repair of ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysms (rAAA) are rare. We herein describe repair using an Amplatzer Septal Occluder in a 68-year-old male who presented to the emergency department 6 months after ruptured endovascular aneurysm repair (rEVAR) with right heart failure. With the assistance of diagnostic angiography and intravascular ultrasound, the patient was found to have a 1.2 cm diameter aortocaval fistula and a type-II endoleak. His aortocaval fistula was successfully closed using an Amplatzer septal occluder device after failure of attempted closure with an Amplatzer plug and coiling of the aneurysm sac. His symptoms of heart failure improved, and he was discharged to an acute rehabilitation unit. Follow-up at 3 months demonstrated continued improvement in heart failure symptoms, and a small persistent type II endoleak. Aortocaval fistulae are a potentially fatal complication of rAAA. We discuss the sequelae and treatment strategies of aortocaval fistulas following rEVAR including the use of the Amplatzer Septal Occluder.

An unusual case of an irretrievable hemodialysis catheter in a patient with end stage renal disease.

Hemodialysis catheters are associated with higher risks of complications compared to arteriovenous fistulas and grafts. Some common complications of dialysis catheters include infection, thrombus formation, central venous stenosis, and mechanical dysfunction. Rarely, catheters can become firmly adhered to a vessel wall. Catheter adhesion is a serious complication that can impact the delivery of safe and effective dialysis to affected patients. Adherent catheters commonly present insidiously with no overt diagnostic signs and symptoms or antecedent catheter malfunction. Prognosis is variable, but can be potentially fatal depending on the severity of adhesion, and sequelae of complications. There are no standardized methods of therapy and treatment strategies are anecdotally reported by interventional radiology, vascular, and cardiothoracic surgery. We hereby describe a case of hemodialysis catheter that has become firmly embedded within the superior vena cava wall. We review the available literature on the epidemiology, risk factors, long-term sequelae, and known management strategies of adherent catheters. The development of preventative measures will be of great importance given serious complications and limited treatment options. Clinical awareness and understanding of this rare condition is imperative to the prevention and management of adherent catheters.

Balloon occlusion retrograde transvenous obliteration of gastric varices in two non-cirrhotic patients with portal vein thrombosis.

This report describes two non-cirrhotic patients with portal vein thrombosis who underwent successful balloon occlusion retrograde transvenous obliteration (BRTO) of gastric varices with a satisfactory response and no complications. One patient was a 35-year-old female with a history of Crohn's disease, status post-total abdominal colectomy, and portal vein and mesenteric vein thrombosis. The other patient was a 51-year-old female with necrotizing pancreatitis, portal vein thrombosis, and gastric varices. The BRTO procedure was a useful treatment for gastric varices in non-cirrhotic patients with portal vein thrombosis in the presence of a gastrorenal shunt.

Anomalies, anatomic variants, and sources of diagnostic pitfalls in pancreatic imaging.

In this review, a brief discussion of the important events of pancreatic embryology is followed by presentation of congenital anomalies and normal variants. For each variant, the appearance at different radiologic modalities including computed tomography, magnetic resonance (MR) imaging, endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography, MR cholangiopancreatography, and fluoroscopy will be demonstrated.

Radiation necrosis in the brain: imaging features and differentiation from tumor recurrence.

Radiation necrosis in the brain commonly occurs in three distinct clinical scenarios, namely, radiation therapy for head and neck malignancy or intracranial extraaxial tumor, stereotactic radiation therapy (including radiosurgery) for brain metastasis, and radiation therapy for primary brain tumors. Knowledge of the radiation treatment plan, amount of brain tissue included in the radiation port, type of radiation, location of the primary malignancy, and amount of time elapsed since radiation therapy is extremely important in determining whether the imaging abnormality represents radiation necrosis or recurrent tumor. Conventional magnetic resonance (MR) imaging findings of these two entities overlap considerably, and even at histopathologic analysis, tumor mixed with radiation necrosis is a common finding. Advanced imaging modalities such as diffusion tensor imaging and perfusion MR imaging (with calculation of certain specific parameters such as apparent diffusion coefficient ratios, relative peak height, and percentage of signal recovery), MR spectroscopy, and positron emission tomography can be useful in differentiating between recurrent tumor and radiation necrosis. In everyday practice, the visual assessment of diffusion-weighted and perfusion images may also be helpful by favoring one diagnosis over the other, with restricted diffusion and an elevated relative cerebral blood volume being seen much more frequently in recurrent tumor than in radiation necrosis.

Carbon dioxide as an intravascular imaging agent: review.

Patients with renal impairment and/or contrast allergies pose a challenge with regard to diagnostic evaluations. CO(2) may serve as a suitable alternative intravascular contrast agent in these patients with arteriographic applications, including evaluation of peripheral vascular disease, and venographic applications, such as transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt procedure, to name a few. Unique properties of CO(2), such as low viscosity, lack of an allergic reaction, and renal toxicity, have afforded it its diagnostic capabilities. However, certain properties of CO(2) also pose a technical challenge in terms of its delivery. Although it remains a relatively safe alternative contrast agent, potential adverse effects have been reported and exist.

Transnasal endoscopic resection of juvenile nasopharyngeal angiofibroma without preoperative embolization.

Juvenile nasopharyngeal angiofibroma (JNA) is a benign, highly vascular, and locally invasive tumor. Because the location of these tumors makes conventional surgery difficult, interest in endoscopic resection is increasing, particularly for the treatment of lesions that do not extend laterally into the infratemporal fossa. We report the results of our series of 23 patients with JNA (stage IIB or lower) who underwent transnasal endoscopic resection under hypotensive general anesthesia without preoperative embolization of the tumor All tumors were successfully excised. The amount of intraoperative blood loss was acceptable. We observed only 1 recurrence, which was diagnosed 19 months postoperatively in a patient with a stage IIB primary tumor. We observed only 3 complications during follow-up-all synechia. We conclude that endoscopic resection of JNAs is safe and effective. The low incidence of recurrence and complications in this series indicates that preoperative embolization may not be necessary for lesions that have not undergone extensive spread; instead, intraoperative bleeding can be adequately controlled with good hypotensive general anesthesia.

Rhinocerebral mucormycosis: pathways of spread.

Rhinocerebral mucormycosis is an invasive, opportunistic fungal infection usually seen in immunocompromised patients, and particularly in the setting of diabetes or immune deficiency. It is assumed that the port of entry is colonization of the nasal mucosa, allowing the fungus to spread via the paranasal sinuses into the orbit. Involvement of the brain and cavernous sinus occurs by way of the orbital apex; therefore, spheno-ethmoidectomy with or without maxillectomy seems to be the definitive method to eradicate this infection. We conducted a prospective study of ten patients with rhinocerebral mucormycosis from February 2000 to April 2004. Rhinocerebral mucormycosis was clinically diagnosed in 11 patients, 10 of whom were included in our study upon histopathological confirmation. Diabetes was the most common underlying disorder seen in nine out of ten patients. In this study, the patients were assessed for predisposing factors, presenting signs and symptoms, sites of extension, the number and sites of surgical debridement, as well as the outcome. Ocular, sinonasal and facial soft tissue involvement was common. Involvement of the pterygopalatine fossa at the time of debridement was evident in all patients. No invasion through the lamina papiracea or the walls of the maxillary sinus was identified. At the time of this communication, six out of ten patients were alive. For the four who died, the causes were hypokalemia, cardiac arrythmia and refractory pneumonia. Pterygopalatine fossa is considered to be the main reservoir for rhinocerebral mucormycosis, and extension into the orbit and facial soft tissues usually follows this route. After proliferation in the nasal cavity, the mucor reaches the pterygo-palatine fossa, inferior orbital fissure and finally the retroglobal space of the orbit, resulting in ocular signs. The facial soft tissues, palate and infratemporal fossa can be infected through connecting pathways from the pterygo-palatine fossa; therefore, debridement of the pterygopalatine fossa seems to be the definitive method of managing this infection.

Angiofibroma: an outcome review of conventional surgical approaches.

Juvenile nasopharyngeal angiofibroma (JNA) is a benign tumor of the nasopharynx, and for its treatment, many surgical approaches have been recommended. However, selecting the appropriate one for the tumor in an advanced stage is still controversial. In this study, we evaluate the rate of recurrence of JNA and its relationship to the preoperative stage as well as various surgical approaches. Thirty-seven patients with pathologically proven JNA were retrospectively analyzed. For each patient, data were obtained regarding the primary extension, various surgical approaches and rate of recurrence. Seven patients were in stage III with intracranial extensions. Two of these patients had symptomatic recurrence that needed surgery. Three of them were disease free, and in two cases residues were demonstrated that were asymptomatic and were chosen only to be observed. Among different surgical approaches used, the transpalatal resulted in 1 recurrence out of 14 patients treated with this approach when the lesion was limited to the nasal cavity, nasopharynx and paranasal sinuses (stage I). No recurrence was observed with the use of this approach with lesions with minimal extension to the pterygopalatine fossa (stage IIA). But among three patients with intracranial extension who were treated with this approach, two resulted in symptomatic recurrence; however, using the Lefort I surgical technique, no evidence of recurrence was observed in the two patients in stage III who were treated with this approach. Involvement of the orbit, middle cranial fossa and base of the pterygoid by the primary JNA results in a higher incident of recurrent tumor. Among different surgical techniques, the lowest recurrence rate is seen either in the transpalatal approach when the tumor is limited to the nasopharynx with extension to the nasal cavity or paranasal sinuses or with the Lefort I approach when skull base invasion is present.