Contraceptive Implant Embolism Into the Pulmonary Artery: Thoracoscopic Retrieval.

An 18-year old woman had migration of a subdermal contraceptive implant in a subsegmental branch of her left lower lobe pulmonary artery. She was managed successfully through a conservative surgical approach, as the implant was removed from the pulmonary artery thoracoscopically, thereby avoiding the need of thoracotomy or lung resection.

[Measurement of tumour response to cancer treatment: morphologic imaging role].

New forms of cancer chemotherapy are tested in therapeutic trials (phase I, phase II or phase III) while chemotherapeutic agents whose efficacy has already been demonstrated are used, in routine clinical practice, in the context of protocols. The overall survival rate is the best objective parameter of efficacy of the treatments tested, but this parameter is obtained too late, as the effect on the tumour must be determined as soon as possible in order to institute another treatment if necessary. Tumour response, or objective response, is based on changes in the number and size of measurable primary or secondary tumour "targets".

Preoperative percutaneous portal vein embolization: evaluation of adverse events in 188 patients.

Purpose: To retrospectively assess the frequency of adverse events related to percutaneous preoperative portal vein embolization (PPVE).

Materials And Methods: Institutional review board did not require its approval or patient informed consent for this study. The adverse events that occurred during PPVE or until planned hepatic surgery was performed or cancelled were retrospectively obtained from clinical, imaging, and laboratory data files in 188 patients (109 male and 79 female patients; mean age, 60 years; range, 16-78 years).