Special compression sutures: a new surgical technique to achieve a quick decrease in shunt volume caused by diffuse hemangiomatosis of the liver.

A new surgical technique for the management of shunting liver hemangiomas that otherwise would rapidly lead to intractable cardiac failure is presented. Rapid, significant reduction of shunt volume was achieved surgically by transhepatic compression sutures using PTFE pledgets and selective ligation of a large feeding vessel from the right hepatic artery.

[Comparison of ultrasonic and CT diagnosis of solid liver tumors]. / Vergleich zwischen Ultraschall- und CT-Diagnostik solider Lebertumoren.

A prospective study compares the results of ultrasound and CT diagnostics in 323 patients with liver tumours. The accuracy of both methods is high: the sensitivity of ultrasound comes up to 90.4%, of CT to 96.1%. The important role of the comparatively economic ultrasound in specific tumour diagnosis is eg shown by the fact that if lesions of high and low echogenicity were found in one patient, or if there were found calcifications, the tumour was always a malignoma. This specificity was missing in the cost intensive CT which is also more time consuming and needs i.v. contrast.