Innominate artery involvement in type IV Ehlers-Danlos syndrome.

We report two cases of innominate artery involvement in patients with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome. In the first patient, spontaneous dissection of the innominate artery was treated successfully. In the other, the patient died of spontaneous rupture of the innominate artery in the early postoperative course after operation for aneurysm of the celiac artery.

[Doppler ultrasonic evaluation of the embolism-causing potential of carotid artery plaques. Apropos of 113 macroscopic findings].

Comparison was made between precise descriptions of gross pathology of 113 carotid artery atheromatous plaques (69 symptomatic, 44 asymptomatic) operated upon by thromboendarterectomy and results of ultrasound-Doppler examinations, to determine possible specific ultrasound criteria for precise anatomical lesions. Echographic criteria studied were: ultrasonic structure of plaques; relation of plaque to wall; existence or absence of a solution of continuity; regular or irregular nature of endoluminal border of plaque; and finally the notion of discordance between degree of stenosis as shown by Doppler (D) and ultrasound (E) imaging (E much less than D). Principal results were as follows.

[Evaluation of the emboligenic potential of carotid plaques. Apropos of 113 echographic and macroscopic comparisons].

113 cases of atheromatous plaques in carotid arteries (69 cases where symptoms were present and 44 were asymptomatic) surgically treated by endarterectomy, including an accurate description of gross lesions, were compared to findings obtained with echographic examination to determine if there are specific echographic criteria corresponding to exact anatomical lesions. The echographic criteria selected for this study were the echo-inducing structure of the plaques; the relationship of the plaque with the artery wall (presence of a lesion continuous with the wall); the regular configuration of the endoluminal edge of the plaque or not; and finally, the notion of a discrepancy between the extent of the carotid artery stenosis visualized by ultrasound and that observed with echography (E much less than U). The primary results of this study demonstrate that echo-inducing, uniform and regular (36 cases) atheromatous plaques corresponded to ordinary, fibrous or calcified plaques in 69.

[Contribution of real time echotomography to evaluation of cervico-encephalic atheromatous disease].

Real time ultrasonography can now provide fine, easily reproducible images of the carotid arteries and to a lesser degree the vertebral arteries. The method is a simple one but requires an experienced operator. Care should be taken to visualize mainly the zones of predilection of the atheroma (carotid bifurcation and ostia).

[Value of mediastinoscopy and mediastinotomy in exploration of the mediastinum (author's transl)].

The value of the information provided by mediastinoscopy or cervical mediastinotomy was evaluated in 150 cases by means of tests measuring diagnostic efficiency with calculated agreement coefficient. An accurate histological diagnosis was made in 100 out of 116 mediastinal syndromes (adenopathy, mediastinal or paramediastinal tumors). In cases with negative results exploratory surgery is required.