Myoepithelioma of the hand and carpal tunnel: An unusual cause of median nerve compression.

Myoepitheliomas are rare tumors increasingly recognized to occur in the soft tissues. Although the hand and carpal tunnel are exceptional locations, the presence of these lesions in such sites constitutes a potential cause of debilitating symptoms. We report the case of a patient with severe pain secondary to median nerve compression and displacement of flexor tendons caused by a rapidly growing myoepithelioma.

Percutaneous balloon fenestration and stent placement for lower limb ischemia complicated with type B aortic dissection.

We report a case of lower limb ischemia secondary to type B aortic dissection, which was successfully treated with endovascular aortic fenestration and stent placement. In this case, we were not able to restore adequate flow to the ischemic limb by means of aortic balloon fenestration alone, so additional stent placement was required to buttress the true lumen and fenestra. There was no recurrence of lower limb ischemia complications during the follow-up period.

Use of the wallstent for symptomatic relief of malignant inferior vena cava obstructions.

Purpose: To report our experience with the Wallstent for the relief of congestive symptoms in patients with malignant inferior vena cava (IVC) obstructions.

Materials And Methods: We treated five patients with malignant obstructions of the IVC with a total of seven self-expandable stents. All obstructions were due to extrinsic compression; the procedures were indicated to relieve congestive symptoms in patients unresponsive to other therapies or in whom other treatments were contraindicated.

Effect of stent oversizing on in-stent stenosis and lumen size in normal porcine veins.

Purpose: To present an in vivo evaluation of the effects of stent oversizing on in-stent stenosis and on actual lumen size in normal veins.

Methods: Twelve self-expanding stents were implanted in the common iliac veins of 6 minipigs, which were divided in 2 groups for follow-up at 1 and 3 months, respectively. Oversizing ranged from 119.

Endovascular obliteration of bleeding duodenal varices in patients with liver cirrhosis.

The purpose of this paper is to describe our experience with endovascular obliteration of duodenal varices in patients with liver cirrhosis and portal hypertension. Balloon-occluded transvenous retrograde and percutaneous transhepatic anterograde embolizations were performed for duodenal varices in five patients with liver cirrhosis, portal hypertension, and decreased liver function. All patients had undergone previous endoscopic treatments that failed to stop bleeding and were poor surgical candidates.

Portosplenic blood flow separation in a patient with portosystemic encephalopathy and a spontaneous splenorenal shunt.

A patient with portosystemic encephalopathy, hyperammonemia, and a spontaneous splenorenal shunt was admitted to the authors' institution after a failed attempt at transvenous retrograde shunt obliteration. As an alternative approach, the authors separated splenic and portal flows by embolizing only the proximal splenic vein while leaving the shunt intact. Thus, the splenic flow could escape into the systemic circulation and an extreme increase in portal pressure was avoided.

Prophylactic stenting of the inferior vena cava before transcatheter embolization of renal cell carcinomas: an alternative to filter placement.

Purpose: To report the use of the self-expanding Wallstent as an alternative to prophylactic inferior vena cava (IVC) filter placement before embolization of renal carcinomas with tumor thrombus.

Case Reports: Two patients, a 71-year-old man and an 88-year-old woman, were diagnosed with extensive tumor infiltration of the IVC secondary to renal cell carcinomas. Prophylactic placement of an IVC filter before transcatheter embolization was unsuccessful in both cases; a reduced space for deployment would have left part of the filter inside the right atrium.