Antegrade internal ureteral stenting: a technical refinement

A pliable, easy to place, double pigtail, internal ureteral stent made of elastomeric polyurethane is described. The tapered distal pigtail end minimizes bladder irritation and the combination of a pusher and absorbable suture enables optimal placement of the proximal pigtail end in the renal pelvis. Ten stents used in eight patients remained functional without bladder irritation for a mean period of 8 months (range, 2-14 months).     

Caveats in the sonographic determination of fetal femur length for estimation of gestational age

Irradiation of the orbit is often associated with substantial dose inhomogeneity resulting from the insertion of lens blocks. We postulated that such dose inhomogeneity, which often exceeds 40%, could be halved by the use of two pairs of wedged beams, one angled in the sagittal plane and the other in the commonly employed transverse plane. The sagittal plane is obtained by turning the treatment couch 90 degrees. All beams carried a central-axis lens block and were angled 30 degrees relative to the vertical. Verification of dose distribution was obtained by film dosimetry in a head phantom for central- and off-axis planes. These measurements indicate that significant improvement in dose homogeneity over alternate methods can be achieved with this technique.