Pre-operative embolization, surgical resection, and follow-up evaluation of a giant intercostal schwannoma.

Intercostal schwannomas can present incidentally and lead to compressive thoracic symptoms. These slow-growing and benign tumors typically arise from intercostal nerves and are supplied by intercostal arteries, which may increase the risk of hemorrhagic complications with surgical resection. Due to the rarity of intercostal schwannomas, there exists no standardized management algorithms.

Complications of radiofrequency ablation of hepatic, pulmonary, and renal neoplasms.

Percutaneous thermal ablation has emerged as a viable technique for treatment of numerous solid organ malignancies. As the number of these procedures increases, so do the complications that are seen. Most common complications are generally related to bleeding from the target organ during or after the procedure and from thermal injury to adjacent structures.

Wandering liver: multidetector CT features and the importance of multiplanar reformations.

The terms wandering liver, hepatic torsion, and hepatic vagrancy have been applied to cases in which hepatic hypermobility results in displacement of the liver from its normal position within the right upper quadrant of the abdomen. This is thought to result from multiple factors, including the lack of normal hepatic suspensory ligaments, persistence of the ventral mesentery, and lack of inferior vena cava tethering Siddins and Cade (Aust N Z J Surg 60:400-403, 1990). A wandering liver has been described in both adults Siddins and Cade (Aust N Z J Surg 60:400-403, 1990), Tate (Am Surg 59:455-458, 1993), Chiavarini and Chang (Radiology 115:47-48, 1974), Cope and Levy (South Afr Med J 40:366-369, 1966), Sharov (Vestn Roentgenol Radiol 35:63-64, 1960), Puthenpurayil et al.

Circumstances surrounding the deaths of hospitalized children: opportunities for pediatric palliative care.

Objectives: Little is known regarding the assessment and treatment of symptoms during end-of-life (EOL) care for children. This study was conducted to describe the circumstances surrounding the deaths of hospitalized terminally ill children, especially pain and symptom management by the multidisciplinary pediatric care team.

Design: Patients in the neonatal intensive care unit, pediatric critical care unit, or general pediatric units of Vanderbilt Children's Hospital who were hospitalized at the time of death, between July 1, 2000, and June 30, 2001, were identified.