Lower extremity pseudoaneurysms and their interventional radiological management: a pictorial review.

Lower extremity pseudoaneurysms (PsAs) are mostly developed after traumatic or iatrogenic injury to the arteries. Unless treated, they can be complicated by adjacent mass effects, distal embolism, secondary infection, and rupture. Imaging helps in the diagnosis and planning of therapeutic intervention. Ultrasonography (USG) is often diagnostic, while CT angiography aids in vascular mapping required for intervention. Image-guided therapy offers to manage these pseudoaneurysms in a minimally invasive approach, obviating the need for surgery. A smaller, superficial, and narrow-necked PsA can easily be managed with local USG-guided compression or thrombin injection. When the percutaneous approach is not a feasible option, PsA from expendable arteries can also be managed with coiling or glue injection. Wide-necked PsA from an unexpendable artery necessitates stent graft placement, although coiling of the neck may be a viable and cheaper alternative for a long- and narrow-necked PsA. Presently, vascular closure devices are also used to seal a small arterial rent through a direct percutaneous approach. This pictorial review entails various techniques to deal with lower extremity pseudoaneurysms. An idea about the various intervention radiological approaches will help in choosing appropriate methods to tackle lower extremity pseudoaneurysms.

Early Hepatocellular Carcinoma Treated by Radiofrequency Ablation-Mid- and Long-Term Outcomes.

BACKGROUND: Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) is a standard treatment for small inoperable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Studies on mid- and long-term outcome of RFA as first-line therapy for HCC from India are limited. METHODS: We evaluated consecutive HCC patients who underwent RFA as primary treatment modality at our institute between July 2009 and April 2016. The median follow-up period was 26 months, range 1-84 months. We evaluated post-RFA tumor response, disease-free survival (DFS), overall survival (OS), and local tumor progression (LTP). Prognostic factors were also analyzed. RESULTS: In 147 patients (male:female = 121:26; mean age, 59.2 years), 209 RFA sessions were done for 228 lesions (mean size of 21.5 ± 8.3 mm, range 10-50 mm). Primary success rate was 94.2%. The estimated cumulative proportion survival at 1, 3, and 5 years was 90.2%, 63.8%, and 60.2%, respectively. The cumulative incidence of LTP estimated at 1, 3, and 5 years was 13.1%, 19.7%, and 20.1%, respectively. The mean estimate of LTP-free survival was 53.6 months (95% confidence interval: 0.49-0.58) which is 58.2 months in <3 cm lesions and 20.4 months in >3 cm lesions (P < 0.01). There was no significant difference in LTP rates between lesions in perivascular versus nonperivascular location (P = 0.71) and surface versus parenchymal lesions (P = 0.66). The mean DFS was 30.3 months (95% CI: 25.6-35.0). For OS, age and Child-Turcotte-Pugh class B were significant factors while for LTP, tumor size >3 cm was significant. Higher baseline alpha-fetoprotein level and LTP were poor predictors for DFS. Complication rate per RFA session was 7/209 (3.3%). CONCLUSIONS: RFA is a safe and effective curative modality for first-line treatment of HCC < 3 cm.