Newton's Law to the rescue: therapeutic effects of gravity aiding the management of a migratory venous foreign body--a case report.

The management of intravascular metallic foreign bodies (FB) can be difficult and challenging. We report a case of a migrating FB, initially within the femoral vein which subsequently migrated to the intrahepatic vena-cava. Following a change of posture, the metallic FB moved with gravity against the normal venous blood flow to the left renal vein. It was finally fixed in position in a peripheral branch of the renal vein using an intravascular stent. Employing gravity as a therapeutic intervention and the technique used in isolating the FB has not, to our knowledge, been reported before. A case is described, and the literature is reviewed.

Steal phenomenon in the lower limb: presentation of a case with osseous metastases secondary to renal cell carcinoma and review of the literature.

Renal cell carcinoma is reported to have potent angiogenic activity with a high microvascular density in both primary and metastatic sites compared with other adenocarcinomas. Angiogenesis can lead to the formation of abnormal arteriovenous shunts that can, in patients with peripheral vascular disease, result in worsening of the degree of ischaemia by producing a vascular steal-like phenomena. Nevertheless, steal phenomena secondary to malignancies are extremely rare. We report a case of distal critical limb ischaemia in a patient with peripheral vascular disease exacerbated by massive arteriovenous shunting due to tibial metastases from renal cell carcinoma.

Cutting balloon-assisted angioplasty of an anastomotic carotid-brachial bypass graft stenosis.

Neointimal hyperplasia leads to anastomotic stenosis in bypass grafts. These stenoses are often resistant to conventional balloon dilatation. We present a case of a carotid-brachial bypass graft stenosis, which was treated by a 5-mm cutting balloon angioplasty with a good angiographic and clinical result.