Should balloon angioplasty and stents have any role in operative intervention for lower extremity ischemia?

p < 0.01). Cumulative combined primary patency at 1 year by life-table methods was 82 ± 10% in the staged group and 83 ± 9% in the simultaneous group (p= 0.79). Mean follow-up was 13 ± 6 months. There is a role for balloon angioplasty and stent placement in operative revascularization of ischemic limbs in selected patients: patency was similar to that produced with the staged approach while the length of stay was shorter. Intraoperative balloon angioplasty is safe and effective and stents permit a measure of control in assuring an optimal intraoperative postangioplasty result.     

The choice of weapons in firearm suicides.

We report on the firearms used in 235 suicides in Sacramento County, California, during 1983-85. Handguns were used in 69 per cent of firearm suicides--65 per cent for males, 88 per cent for females--and in all such deaths among women ages 35 and older. We tested the hypothesis that the choice of firearms by persons committing suicide at home would passively reflect the reported prevalence of firearms by type in households in the region. Handguns were used more frequently (rate ratio 2.00; 95% CI = 1.68, 2.39), and rifles and shotguns less frequently than expected.     

Primary myxoid liposarcoma of the orbit.

Orbital liposarcoma is a rare and usually unsuspected neoplasm. Over a five-year period three female patients aged 22, 71, and 77 years presented with primary myxoid liposarcoma of the orbit. The management of one patient was complicated by a history of orbital decompression for suspected thyroid eye disease. The tumour infiltrates locally beyond a deceptive pseudocapsule, and surgery has to be radical to be effective.     

Outpatient liver biopsy: one man's experience

As an academically based gastroenterologist, I performed 94 outpatient liver biopsies over a 42-month period, using the standard suction technique. Differential blood count and vital signs were monitored, with no statistically significant postbiopsy changes noted in the group at large. One patient required admission to the hospital for bleeding, and six patients required intramuscular analgesics for pain at the biopsy site. Four patients had bradycardia, and one of them required atropine for bradycardia and hypotension. Outpatient liver biopsy is a safe procedure with low morbidity and complication rate. It would appear that prolonged monitoring is not necessary.