Pulmonary metastases from intracerebral meningioma. Diagnosis by percutaneous needle aspiration biopsy.

A case of metastatic meningioma to the lung is reported and the recent literature reviewed. This case was diagnosed solely by cytologic examination of fine needle aspiration biopsy. Pulmonary metastases are relatively rare and the diagnosis by this method has not previously been reported.

Cannulation of the proximal aorta during long-term membrane lung perfusion.

Prolonged extracorporeal oxygenator support for acute respiratory failure is a clinical reality. Recent experience with 4 patients has demonstrated an advantage in delivery of saturated blood to the root of the aorta during venoarterial (VA) bypass. We have been able to perfuse the heart and bilateral cerebral hemispheres by advancing the tip of a large perfusion cannula to the aortic root from the common femoral artery. When the catheter did not pass beyond the transverse aortic arch, there was marked asymmetry of oxygenator perfusion, as determined by differential oxygen tension in right and left radial artery blood and by xenon-133 scans following isotope injection into the arterial return line. Long-term VA bypass lasting from 5 to 11 days resulted in long-term survival in 2 patients with post-traumatic gram-negative pneumonitis. The other patients, who had viral pneumonitis and post-transfusion respiratory failure, died after 9 and 11 days of membrane oxygenator support. No embolic lesions or arterial or valvular injuries were discovered at autopsy. This is a safe and useful method of providing oxygenated blood to the aortic root for equal distribution to the rest of the body.

Tomography of pelvic-abdominal masses during intravenous urography. An added dimension.

Experience with a wide variety of pelvic-abdominal masses indicates that good quality tomography during high dose urography permits separation of solid from cystic lesions in almost all cases, even with minimal mass opacification. Evaluation of surface contour, absence or presence of a wall and its features, opacification, calcification, and uterine status provides the framework for characterization of the mass. Multiple masses can be identified and evaluated separately. While titration of the above criteria permits an accurate assessment independent of the clinical diagnosis, the latter information is important in separating a probable abscess from other cystic lesions. Since urography continues to be a pivotal preoperative roentgenologic investigation (ureteral status, pelvic kidney exclusion, etc.), the addition of tomography provides an added dimension to its usefulness. With the exception of the premenopausal female in whom radiation exposure is a consideration, tomography appears to preclude the routine necessity for subsequent ultrasound study which has been used to separate cystic from solid lesions.