Use of angiographic needles with or without stylets: pathologic assessment of vessel walls after puncture.

There is controversy as to whether angiographic needles without stylets produce more arterial damage than those with stylets. Iliac arteries from 15 fresh human cadavers were punctured 56 times with either an 18-gauge angiographic needle with a stylet or one without a stylet (28 punctures with each needle type). These puncture sites were serially sectioned and examined microscopically.

[The right postpneumonectomy syndrome].

Two patients with a so-called right-sided postpneumonectomy syndrome are described. The syndrome results from a marked mediastinal shift towards the vacant hemithorax, primarily after a pneumonectomy performed in early childhood. The trachea is compressed by the aortic arch and distorted by the mediastinal shift.