Occlusive peripheral arteriosclerosis: treatment by percutaneous transluminal recanalization--"the Dotter procedure".

We have performed 17 percutaneous transluminal dilatations in 15 patients with segmental stenoses of the femoral and popliteal arteries. Initial success was achieved in 14 instances. This technique must be considered a useful adjunct in the treatment of peripheral vascular disease in selected patients.

Gas in the portal vein: a report of two cases.

Gas in the portal venous system was detected on plain roentgenograms of the abdomen in two women aged 61 and 72 years, respectively. Both patients had intestinal necrosis, due in one instance to a small bowel volvulus around a mesenteric band, and in the second instance to occlusion of the celiac axis, superior and inferior mesenteric arteries. In the first patient, the portal venous gas was detected before surgery, and in the second case the gas was observed at laparotomy and was visualized on radiographs of the abdomen taken shortly after death.