Radiologic and clinical outcomes with special reference to tumor involvement pattern after stent placement for malignant bronchial obstructions.

Background: Location of tumor within the tracheobronchial tree as well as its severity can affect the clinical outcome of patients who undergo airway stent placement.

Purpose: To evaluate radiologic and clinical outcome, including survival data, with special reference to proposed tumor involvement pattern, in patients with malignant bronchial strictures.

Material And Methods: A total of 35 patients who underwent stent placement for malignant bronchial strictures were enrolled over a 9-year period.

Intramedullary spinal cord metastases: a single-institution experience.

Background: Intramedullary spinal cord metastasis (ISCM) is the rarest type of CNS involvement of systemic malignant tumors. The aim of this retrospective study is to evaluate the clinical features, treatment and natural course of patients with ISCM in a single institution of Korea.

Methods: We reviewed the medical records of all patients diagnosed with secondary malignant neoplasms involving the spinal cord at the Asan Medical Center between January 1995 and August 2006.

Treatment of tracheobronchial obstruction with a polytetrafluoroethylene-covered retrievable expandable nitinol stent.

Purpose: To evaluate the clinical effectiveness of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE)-covered retrievable expandable nitinol stents in tracheobronchial strictures.

Materials And Methods: With fluoroscopic guidance, PTFE-covered retrievable expandable nitinol stents were placed in 15 symptomatic patients with benign (n = 6) or malignant (n = 9) tracheobronchial strictures. Complications and improvement in respiratory status were evaluated.