Carotid Stent-Supported Angioplasty via Radiobrachial Route

Endovascular stent-supported angioplasty is a treatment option for atherosclerotic disease of the cervical internal carotid artery in high-risk patients. The traditional transfemoral approach is not suitable for patients who suffer from common femoral artery or abdominal aorta atheropathy. We report a case of carotid stent deployment using the radial route in a 68-year-old man with type B aortic dissection, having severe right internal carotid artery origin stenosis, presenting with ipsilateral retinal ischemic events. Technical aspects of carotid stenting via the radial approach are described and the related literature is discussed.     

食管支架治疗食管良恶性狭窄的临床应用体会

目的:探讨带膜食管支架在食管良恶性狭窄中的应用价值.方法:本组35例全部在东芝800mAX光机电视透视下置入.结果:35例患者共置入支架39枚,成功率100%.结论:食管支架治疗食管良恶性病变,其方法简单、方便、安全、创伤小、疗效显著.     

Use of a Strecker oesophageal stent in the treatment of benign oesophageal stricture

The use of self-expanding prostheses in the management of malignant oesophageal strictures has become well established. The majority of benign peptic oesophageal strictures can be successfully managed using endoscopic or fluoroscopically guided balloon oesophageal dilatation combined with long-term drug therapy, particularly using proton pumper inhibitors. Although endoscopic oesophageal dilatation can be performed on an outpatient basis, it requires repeated hospital visits. There is a small risk of oesophageal perforation whilst cardio-respiratory complications may be encountered during the use of intravenous sedation in an elderly population. The use of a self-expanding Strecker stent in a 98 year old woman with a benign oesophageal stricture is described.     

Peripheral Seeding of Mycotic Aneurysms from an Infected Aortic Stent Graft

Aortic stent graft infection is rare and there are no reported cases of seeded peripheral mycotic aneurysms complicating this condition. We describe the case of a 54 year old man who developed a late stent graft infection at three years, resulting in the peripheral seeding of three mycotic aneurysms with two incidents of rupture. He was successfully treated with extra-anatomic bypass of the aorta and both surgical and endovascular repair of his peripherally seeded mycotic aneurysms.     

Laparoscopic Deployment of Biliary Self-Expandable Metal Stent (SEMS) for One-Step Palliation in 23 Patients with Advanced Pancreatico-Biliary Tumors—a Pilot Trial

Background Exploratory laparoscopy is commonly undertaken in patients with highly suspicious biliary and pancreatic lesions to facilitate diagnosis and staging cancer is present. If an unresectable tumor is identified, a second endoscopic procedure may be required do deploy a self-expandable metal stent (SEMS) for palliation. As endoscopic retrograde cholangio pancreatography (ERCP) may be unsuccessful in up to 20% of patients, we evaluated the feasibility and safety of deployment of self-expandable metal stents at the same time as the initial laparoscopy. Patients and Methods A total of 23 eligible patients (8 male and 15 female) with malignant obstruction of the common bile duct underwent deployment of SEMS at laparoscopy. Primary outcome measure was the successful laparoscopic deployment of stent and secondary outcome measure was complications rates. Results Indications for stent deployment were unresectable pancreatic cancer in 18, cholangiocarcinoma in two, neuroendocrine tumor in one and ampullary adenocarcinoma in two patients. The median age was 73 years (range 49–93). Twenty-two of 23 stents were deployed successfully: 17 stents were deployed transcystically and five via a choledochotomy. Median times for laparoscopic exploration and SEMS deployment were 165 min (range 105–230) and 20 min (range 10–50), respectively. Pre- and post-procedures median total bilirubin were 9.4 mg/dl (range 5.4–17.5) and 4.0 (range 2.6–7.1). The median size of the pancreatic mass was 3 cm (range 2–5 cm) and that of the common bile duct (CBD) from 9.2 mm (range 7.2–17.4). The mean duration of laparoscopy was 170 min (range 120–230 min) and that for stent deployment 23 min (range 10–50 min). Complications included bleeding, obstruction, and wound infection. Bleeding occurred on day 7 in two patients and on day 30 in one patient; bleeding occurred at the gastrojejunal anastomosis site and was successfully treated with endoscopic hemostasis. A total of three stent obstructions were identified: one each at 60, 90, and 120 days follow-up. All complications were successfully managed endoscopically. There were a total of seven deaths, six as a result of progressive cancer and one of surgical wound infection and ensuing complications. Conclusion This study demonstrates that laparoscopic deployment of self-expandable metal bile duct stents is feasible and safe. This option appears to be a reasonable option in patients with inoperable malignant obstruction of the distal common bile duct.     

记忆合金支架治疗前列腺部尿道梗阻的远期疗效

目的 观察镍钛记忆合金网状支架治疗前列腺部尿道梗阻的远期疗效。方法 1993年11月—1996年8月应用网状镍钛记忆合金尿道支架治疗前列腺部尿道梗阻患者15例，其中前列腺增生14例，前列腺癌1例。分别于术后3个月及6年随访。结果 术后6年，症状明显改善，国际前列腺症状评分(IPSS)比术前减少16．6，残余尿(RUV)从平均151．2mL，减少至29．1mL，平均尿流率(MFR)从平均3．0mL／s增加到11．1mL／s。结论 镍钛记忆合金网状支架对治疗良性前列腺增生症(BPH)引起的前列腺部尿道梗阻是一种有效的措施，特别适用于不能耐受手术或预期寿命不长的尿潴留患者。     

经内镜胆管内支架置入术对良恶性胆管梗阻的临床应用

目的探讨经内镜胆管内支架置入术对各种良恶性胆管梗阻的治疗效果。方法95例良恶性胆管梗阻病人先行内镜逆行胰胆管造影（ERCP）检查,确定胆管梗阻病变部位和性质后,再决定使用内镜下塑料胆道支架引流（ERBD）和内镜下金属胆道支架引流（EMBE）。结果95例患者中92例插管成功,成功率96.84%（92/95）。针对良性胆管梗阻行ERBD 28例,主要见于胆总管结石;针对恶性胆管梗阻行ERBD 44例,行EMBE 20例,主要见于胰头癌、胆管癌、壶腹癌、原发性肝癌及肝门、肝内转移压迫胆管,所有病例均在引流后总胆红素及直接胆红素明显下降。结论：经内镜下胆管内支架引流术的应用愈来愈广泛,其操作安全而有效,特别是对各种良恶性病变引起的胆管梗阻起了关键性的治疗作用。     

A Tissue-Engineered Artificial Bile Duct Grown to Resemble The Native Bile Duct

The aim of this study was to fabricate an artificial bile duct for the development of a new treatment for biliary diseases. Eighteen hybrid pigs were implanted with a bile duct organoid unit (BDOU) made of a bioabsorbable polymer. Twelve of the transplanted BDOUs had been seeded with autologous bone marrow cells (BMCs) in advance. Six animals, the controls, were grafted with the scaffold alone with no BMCs seeded. The common bile duct was cut, the hepatic cut end of the native common bile duct was anastomosed to the BDOU and the other end was anastomosed to the duodenum. The controls underwent a similar operation. The neo-bile duct was removed at pre-determined time points and investigated histologically. All 18 recipient pigs survived until their sacrifice at 6 weeks, 10 weeks or 6 months. Histological examination revealed incomplete epithelialization of the neo-bile duct at 6 weeks and 10 weeks after transplantation. At 6 months, the organoid exhibited a morphology almost identical to that of the native common bile duct. No differences were found between the controls and BMC-seeded pigs. These results show that the artificial bile duct thus fabricated can serve as a substitute for the native bile duct.     

Pancreaticoduodenectomy after placement of endobiliary metal stents

Contemporary treatment programs for patients with potentially resectable pancreatic cancer often involve preoperative therapy. When the duration of preoperative therapy exceeds 2 months, the risk of plastic endobiliary stent occlusion increases. Metal stents have much better patency but may complicate subsequent pancreaticoduodenectomy (PD). We evaluated rates of perioperative morbidity, mortality, and stent complications in 272 consecutive patients who underwent PD at our institution from May 2001 to November 2004. Of these 272 patients, 29 (11%) underwent PD after placement of a metal stent, 141 underwent PD after placement of a plastic stent, 10 had PD after biliary bypass without stenting, and 92 had PD without any form of biliary decompression. No differences were found between the Metal Stent group and all other patients in median operative time, intraoperative blood loss, or length of hospital stay. No perioperative deaths occurred in the Metal Stent group versus 3 (1.2%) deaths in the other 243 patients. The incidence of major perioperative complications was similar between the two groups, including the rates of pancreatic fistula, intra-abdominal abscess, and wound infection. Furthermore, there were no differences in the perioperative morbidity or mortality rates between patients who underwent preoperative biliary decompression with a stent of any kind (metal or plastic) and those patients who underwent no biliary decompression at all. Metal stent-related complications occurred in 2 (7%) of 29 patients during a median preoperative interval of 4.1 months; in contrast, 75 (45%) of the 166 patients who had had plastic stents experienced complications, including 98 stent occlusions, during a median preoperative interval of 3.9 months (P < 0.001). We conclude that the use of expandable metal stents does not increase PD-associated perioperative morbidity or mortality, and as such an expandable metal stent is our preferred method of biliary decompression in patients with symptomatic malignant distal bile duct obstruction in whom surgery is not anticipated, or in whom there is a significant delay in the time to surgery. Presented at the Forty-Sixth Annual Meeting of The Society for Surgery of the Alimentary Tract, Chicago, Illinois, May 14–18, 2005 (oral presentation). Supported by the Lockton Fund for Pancreatic Cancer Research, The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas.     

Post-operative esophageal leak treated with removable silicone-covered polyester stent

Self-expanding removable covered stents are increasingly being used for the treatment of benign esophageal diseases such as leaks or perforations and stenosis. They are easy to place and remove and good outcomes have been reported. We report a case of a postoperative esophageal leak successfully managed with a removable silicone-covered polyester stent.