Endovascular repair of carotid artery pseudoaneurysm after carotid endarterectomy with self-expanding covered stents-a long-term follow-up.

A 66-year-old Caucasian man with type 2 diabetes mellitus, peptic ulcer disease, peripheral vascular disease, and a 70% symptomatic carotid stenosis underwent a successful carotid endarterectomy with intraoperative shunting and Dacron patch closure in October 2000. Three months later, he developed a pseudoaneurysm at the site of the surgical repair. This was successfully treated with endovascular covered stents and has continued to remain patent at 9-year follow-up.

Open repair and endovascular covered stent placement in the management of bilateral axillary artery aneurysms.

A 72-year-old male with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and hyperlipidemia presented with acute right upper limb ischemia. Arterial occlusion was found to be secondary to a thrombosed axillary artery aneurysm. An open repair was performed with a polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) graft.

Effects of cilostazol on human venous smooth muscle.

In this study, we evaluated the effect of therapeutic doses of cilostazol on human venous smooth muscle. Saphenous vein rings (two to four per patient sample) were suspended in tissue baths for isometric tension recordings. At the beginning of the experiment, optimal tension for isometric contraction was achieved for each ring in a stepwise fashion in the presence of norepinephrine (10(-2) M).

Takayasu's arteritis presenting as uveitis in a 5-year-old girl.

A 5-year-old patient presented with uveitis as initial manifestation of Takayasu's arteritis. Our patient is unique not only in the initial presentation but also in the extent of arteritis in the aortic arch and great vessels. This is only the second case reported in the literature with this unusual presentation.

Long-term follow up and prognostic factors for cryotherapy of malignant liver tumors.

Background: The aims of this study were to determine the long-term outcomes of cryotherapy in patients with hepatic malignancies and to describe prognostic factors that may affect survival.

Methods: Ninety-eight patients (56 colorectal metastases, 28 noncolorectal metastases, 14 hepatocellular carcinomas) undergoing hepatic cryosurgery were identified in a retrospective review from January 1994 to December 2002.

Results: Overall survival rates at 1-, 2-, 3-, and 5- years were 81%, 62%, 48%, and 28%, respectively(median survival, 33 months) compared to a hepatic recurrence-free survival of 76%, 42%, 24%, and 16%, respectively (median hepatic recurrence-free survival, 20 months).

Prognostic determinants in duodenal injuries.

A retrospective review of 222 consecutive patients with duodenal injuries admitted to an urban Level 1 Trauma Center who subsequently underwent laparotomy during the period July 1980 to April 2002 was performed in an effort to elucidate factors associated with mortality, infectious morbidity, and length of stay in these patients. Predictably, the patients were predominantly male (92.7%) and young (mean age, 31.

The extent of cryosurgery increases the complication rate after hepatic cryoablation.

Although there have been many reports on the use of cryosurgery to ablate hepatic malignancies none have specifically examined the relationship of complication rates to the extent of cryoablation. A retrospective review from January 1997 to May 2002 identified 98 patients treated with hepatic cryotherapy. The extent of the cryosurgery was determined by the total number of lesions (TNL) and total estimated area (TEA) of the lesions from preoperative evaluation by CT scan and intraoperative evaluation by ultrasound.

Augmentation of wound healing with translation initiation factor eIF4E mRNA.

Background: Initiation of translation is the rate-limiting step in protein synthesis; eIF4E increases translational efficiency by facilitating ribosome scanning. eIF4E is present in cells in rate-limiting amounts; chronic overexpression of eIF4E causes cell transformation by upregulating growth-related proteins. Biolistic delivery of epidermal growth factor (EGF) increases wound healing; transiently increasing wound eIF4E levels with biolistic mRNA transmission may further augment wound healing without oncogenesis.