Initial clinical experience with an endoluminal spiral prosthesis for treating complicated venous thrombosis and preventing pulmonary embolism.

Fourteen patients with complicated venous thrombosis or recurrent pulmonary embolism were treated by implantation of an endoluminal spiral prosthesis subsequent to balloon angioplasty, surgical thrombectomy or embolectomy, a combination of these, or, in 2 cases, no other treatment. The patients were divided into 2 groups, based on their primary diagnosis and the purpose of the prosthesis. Group I included 8 patients with extensive iliofemoral or caval thrombosis, caused by congenital caval stenosis (1 case) or extravascular compression or retraction (7 cases); 7 of these patients had had previous operations, and the remaining patient had undergone thrombolysis, which failed.

[Interstitial brachytherapy--initial experiences using 192iridium in short-term therapy].

After a review of the literature dealing with the previous development and the methods of interstitial brachytherapy the high-dose-rate therapy with Iridium-192 is outlined. The proceeding by means of a new afterloading system are depicted. The hitherto acquired indications are treated and discussed in detail.