Magnetic resonance imaging features of myxoid leiomyoma of the vagina: A case report.

We report a rare case of a voluminous vaginal myxoid leiomyoma in a 27-year-old nulliparous woman. Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) revealed a mass arising from the vagina, with inhomogeneous signal intensity on spin-echo T1W and T2W images. MRI accurately defined the tissue planes between the lesion and the adjacent structures and suggested its benign nature. The mass was completely resected by means of transvaginal approach and the diagnosis of myxoid leiomyoma was confirmed histologically. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report describing the MRI features of vaginal myxoid leiomyoma.

Simultaneous occurrence of renal oncocytoma and B small cell lymphoma in the same kidney: report of two cases.

Two cases of simultaneous occurrence of oncocytoma (OC) associated with small B-cell lymphoma in the same kidney were investigated. Computed tomography, performed for staging purposes, incidentally revealed a small hypo- and hyperattenuating renal mass. Diagnosis of OC was performed on the specimen by morphology, immunohistochemistry and electron microscopy. The patients are in complete remission after a vaccinotherapy with follicular dendritic cells. The occurrence of OC and non-Hodgkin lymphoma in the same kidney has never been reported. These case reports outline that computerized tomography is a sensitive method in the staging of lymphoma. However, when some solid, small hyper- or hypoattenuating masses occur in the kidney, the diagnosis by computed tomography alone is always a challenge and other malignant neoplasms may be considered. Immunohistochemistry and electron microscopy allow a definitive diagnosis of OC.

Clinical Outcome of High Risk Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumor in a Meckel's Diverticulum.

We describe a seven years follow-up of a high risk gastrointestinal stromal tumor in a Meckel's diverticulum in a 68-year-old man with abdominal pain and vomiting. The patient was operated in emergency for peritonitis due to perforation of small intestine and treated with imatinib mesylate. The metastatic progression of the disease demonstrated the value of prognostic indicators (mitotic rate >10/50 high power field, necrosis and 8 cm in maximum diameter) for assessing risk of aggressive behaviour. Computed tomography was a valuable procedure for detection of local recurrence, the distant metastases and for surveillance after surgery in the follow-up. The review of the literature shows that this case has the longest follow up and consents the comparisons of the same neoplasm in other sites most frequent and better described than Meckel's diverticulum.

Carotid artery stenting: first consensus document of the ICCS-SPREAD Joint Committee.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: The prevention of stroke and the correct treatment of carotid artery stenosis represent today a major debate in cardiovascular medicine. Beside carotid endarterectomy, carotid angioplasty and stenting is becoming more widely performed for the treatment of severe carotid obstructive disease, and is now accepted as a less invasive technique that may provide an alternative for selected patients, particularly those with significant comorbidities. An Italian multidisciplinary task force, in which converged the most representative scientific societies involved in carotid treatment, was created to provide neurologists, radiologist, cardiologists, vascular surgeons, and all those involved in prevention and treatment of carotid disease with a simple, clear and updated evidence-based consensus document. SUMMARY OF REVIEW: This First Consensus Document of the ICCS (Italian Consensus Carotid Stenting)/SPREAD group addressed the main issues related to methodology, definition of symptomatic and asymptomatic carotid stenosis, indication and procedures for carotid artery stenting, including the use of devices for preventing procedural embolic complications. Special attention was paid to credentials and competency for physicians qualifications to perform vascular angioplasty and stent placement, including training, acceptable complication rates and certification. CONCLUSIONS: As any guideline or consensus statement, also this document is valid as long as the evidence on which it is based remains up-to-date. In such a fast-evolving field of medicine as the management of carotid stenosis, it is mandatory to stimulate a continuous and fruitful discussion among all the professionals involved in this very evolutionary field.

Long-term follow-up of atherosclerotic renovascular disease. Beneficial effect of ACE inhibition.

BACKGROUND: Patients with atherosclerotic renovascular disease (ARVD) are almost invariably treated by revascularization. However, the long-term outcomes of this approach on survival and progression to renal failure have not been investigated and have not been compared with that of a purely medical treatment. The aim of this observational study was to investigate factors affecting long-term (over 5 years) outcome, survival and renal function of patients with ARVD treated invasively or medically. METHODS: ARVD was demonstrated angiographically in 195 patients who were consecutively enrolled into a follow-up study. Patient age was 65.6+/-11.2 years, serum creatinine was 1.74+/-1.22 mg/dl and renal artery lumen narrowing was 73.5+/-17.5%. A revascularization was performed in 136 patients, whereas 54 subjects having comparable characteristics were maintained on a medical treatment throughout the study; five patients were lost during follow-up. RESULTS: The main follow-up was 54.4+/-40.4 months. The assessment of cardiovascular survival and renal survival at the end of follow-up revealed 46 cardiovascular deaths, 20 patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) and 41 patients with an increase in serum creatinine of over one-third. The multivariate analysis showed that renal revascularization did not affect mortality or renal survival compared with medical treatment. Revascularization produced slightly lower increases in serum creatinine and a better control of blood pressure. A longer survival was associated with the use of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEIs) (P = 0.002) in both revascularized and medically treated patients. The only significant predictor of ESRD was an abnormal baseline serum creatinine. CONCLUSIONS: On long-term follow-up, ARVD was associated with a poor prognosis due to a high cardiovascular mortality and a high rate of ESRD. In our non-randomized study, revascularization was not a major advantage over medical treatment in terms of mortality or renal survival. The use of ACEIs was associated with improved survival.

Imaging evaluation of post pancreatic surgery.

The role of several imaging techniques in patients submitted to pancreatic surgery with special emphasis to single-slice helical computed tomography (CT) and multidetector-row CT (MDCT) was reviewed. Several surgical options may be performed such as Whipple procedure, distal pancreatectomy, central pancreatectomy, and total pancreatectomy. Ultrasound examination may be used to detect peritoneal fluid in the early post-operative period as well as lesion recurrence in long-term follow-up. Radiological gastrointestinal studies has a major role in evaluation of intestinal functionality. In spite of the advent of other imaging modalities, CT is the most effective after pancreatic surgery. On post-operative CT, the most common findings were small fluid peritoneal or pancreatic collections, stranding of the mesenteric fat with perivascular cuffing, reactive adenopathy and pneumobilia. In addition, CT may demonstrate early (leakage of anastomosis, pancreatico-jejunal fistula, haemorrage, acute pancreatitis of the remnant pancreas, peritonitis), and late (chronic fistula, abscess, aneurysms, anastomotic bilio-digestive stenosis, perianastomotic ulcers, biloma, and intra-abdominal bleeding) surgical complications. In the follow-up evaluation, CT may show tumor recurrence, liver and lymph nodes metastasis. Magnetic resonance may be used as alternative imaging modality to CT, when renal insufficiency or contrast sensitivity prevents the use of iodinated i.v. contrast material or when the biliary tree study is primarily requested. The knowledge of the type of surgical procedures, the proper identification of the anastomoses as well as the normal post-operative imaging appearances are essential for an accurate detection of the complications and recurrent disease.

Percutaneous treatment of carotid stenosis with protection system: preliminary experience.

PURPOSE: To assess the feasibility, safety, and efficacy of carotid artery stenting with filter device. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Between May 2001 and July 2002, a total of 96 consecutive patients (100 lesions) who presented with symptomatic >70% diameter stenosis, asymptomatic >90% diameter stenosis or post-endarterectomy as well as post-radiotherapy hemodynamically significant stenosis underwent carotid artery stenting with filter protection at our institute. The mean age of the patients was 72 (range 51-91). There were 22 female (23%), and 74 male (77%). Of the 96 patients, 62 patients (65%) did not filled the NASCET surgical criteria and 24 (26%) were classified as ASA 4. All the patients underwent pretreatment with antiplatelet agents. All procedures were performed with a standardized monitoring system by a multidisciplinary team. Filtration system for cerebral protection was consistently used. Outcome measures were procedural atheroembolic events, including all-stroke and death rates up to 30 days. RESULTS: A protection system type "TRAP" (Microvena, Italy) or a protection system type "EPIFILTER" (Boston Scientific, USA) were employed in 28% and 67% of cases, respectively. In the remaining 5% it was not possible to cross the stenosis with the filter. The stent placement was achieved in 95 of the procedures (95%). In 86% of cases a primary stenting technique was performed, with balloon pre-dilation of the lesion and subsequent stent advancement through the stenosis accounting for 9% of cases. At the time of protection system removal, 21 filter (21%) showed presence of macroscopic particles. We recorded 8 (8%) homolateral neurological events: two major strokes, one minor stroke and five TIAs (all the patients with TIA fully recovered within 2 hours). General complications (5%) included one lesion of the median nerve, two groin haematomas (one with disability for the patient, and one requiring surgery), one myocardial infarct and one lower limb ischaemia requiring surgical intervention. All major complications (4%) (two major strokes, one myocardial infarct and one lesion of the median nerve) occurred within the first 31 cases, the 69 following procedures not showing any neurological or non-neurological major events. At 30 days all patient were still alive. CONCLUSIONS: Filter protection during carotid artery stenting seems technically feasible as well as reasonably safe and effective. The EPIFILTER system turned out to be of easier employment due to its "monorail" system and because it does not usually need a catheter of dedicated recovery. Further studies in larger groups of patients are required to best characterize criteria guiding the choice for the right protection system.

Postpartum ovarian vein thrombosis with simultaneous pyelocaliectasis: diagnosis and follow-up by MR imaging. Case report and literature review.

We describe the critical role of MR imaging in a case of postpartum ovarian vein thrombosis (OVT) with concomitant pyelocaliceal ectasia. MR imaging confirmed the diagnosis suspected on the basis of ultrasonography and computed tomography by demonstration of a subacute clot with high signal intensity within the right ovarian vein and its complete resolution after anticoagulant therapy. MR imaging is a useful noninvasive, accurate tool for the diagnosis and follow-up of this potentially life-threatening condition, providing information helpful for choosing a prompt medical treatment rather than a surgical therapy. To our knowledge, no previous case of OVT causing pyelocaliceal ectasia documented by MR imaging has been reported. However, even though our case is suggestive, a cause-effect relationship between OVT and hydronephrosis could not be demonstrated with certainty.

Device migration after endoluminal abdominal aortic aneurysm repair: analysis of 113 cases with a minimum follow-up period of 2 years.

PURPOSE: Device migration (DM) has been shown to cause late failure after endoluminal abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) repair. To establish the incidence rate and the predictive factors of distal migration of the proximal portion of the endograft, computed tomographic (CT) scans performed at different time intervals during follow-up examination of 113 patients were reviewed. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Between April 1997 and March 1999, 148 patients underwent endoluminal AAA repair with a modular endograft with infrarenal fixation (Medtronic-AVE AneuRx, Santa Rosa, Calif) at our unit. CT scans performed at 1, 6, and 12 months after surgery and yearly thereafter were prospectively stored in a computer imaging database. Patient demographics, risk factors, operative details, and follow-up events were prospectively collected. No patients were lost to follow-up examination. Twelve patients died within 2 years of surgery, four patients underwent immediate conversion to open repair, and adequate CT measurements were not feasible in 19 cases, which left 113 patients available for a minimum 2-year assessment and 418 CT scan results reviewed. Two vascular surgeons, blinded to patient identity and history with tested interobserver agreement (kappa = 0.64), separately reviewed axial reconstructions of CT scans. DM was defined as changes of 10 mm or more in the distance between the lower renal artery and the first visible portion of the endograft at follow-up examination. Ten possible independent predictors of DM were analyzed with multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression model. RESULTS: One AAA rupture, which was successfully treated, occurred at a mean follow-up period of 28 months (range, 24 to 46 months). Seventeen patients (15%) showed DM. Eight patients (47%) with DM underwent reintervention: a proximal cuff was positioned in six patients and late conversion to open repair was performed in two patients. Of the 10 variables analyzed with Cox proportional hazards regression model, AAA neck enlargement of more than 10% after endoluminal repair (hazard ratio, 7.3; confidence interval, 1.8 to 29.2; P =.004) and preoperative AAA diameter of 55 mm or more (hazard ratio, 4.5; confidence interval, 1.2 to 16.7; P =.02) were positive independent predictors of DM. The probability of DM at 36 months was 27% according to life table analysis. CONCLUSION: DM occurred in a significant portion of our patients, yet aggressive follow-up examination and a high reintervention rate prevented aneurysm-related death. According to our data, dilatation of the infrarenal aortic neck is an important factor that contributes to the distal migration of stent grafts, and patients with large aneurysms are at high risk for DM.

Outcome of abdominal aortic endografting in high-risk patients: a 4-year single-center study.

PURPOSE: To evaluate feasibility, safety, and effectiveness of endovascular abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) repair in patients whose fitness for surgery is questionable. METHODS: Between April 1997 and December 2001, 389 consecutive patients underwent endovascular AAA repair. Of these, 51 (13.1%) were ASA grade IV. The perioperative and late outcomes of this group were compared to the remaining 338 patients with ASA grades 0.05). Actuarial survival at 30 months was 62.9% in ASA IV group and 88.0% in ASA