The Trojan Horse of Kidney Transplantation Returns: A Review and Call for Financial Neutrality.

Publications in both the lay and academic press suggest that the problem of long waiting lists for deceased donor kidney transplants could be solved if only the National Organ Transplant Act were changed to permit various forms of financial incentives to kidney donors. The history of the debate over payments to donors is discussed with particular emphasis on the national and international ramifications of such payments, the effect on normative altruistic donation, and the nature of the relationship between the doctor and the patient in the donor workup process. A way forward is proposed through the promotion of financial neutrality and expanded efforts to prevent CKD.

Percutaneous direct puncture and embolization of vascularly inaccessible abdominal visceral pseudoaneurysms: A single-center experience and literature review.

Background: To evaluate the techniques, efficacy, and safety for treating vascularly inaccessible abdominal visceral pseudoaneurysms by direct puncture and embolization.

Methods: A retrospective study of 5 consecutive patients who underwent percutaneous direct puncture embolization for intra-abdominal pseudoaneurysms in our institution between January 2009 and December 2016. Technical aspects, success, clinical outcome, and complications were discussed.

Hepatic Plexus Nerve Block for Microwave Ablation of Hepatic Tumors.

Seven patients underwent microwave ablation of hepatic tumors; during ablation, a hepatic nerve plexus block was used for pain control. The mean visual analog scale (VAS) score for pain (scale, 0-10) was 0.3 ± 0.

Effects of irreversible electroporation on femoral nerves in a rabbit model.

Introduction: Irreversible electroporation (IRE) is a novel technique that uses a non-thermal ablation to avoid adjacent major structure injury. The aim of this study was to sequentially evaluate the effects of IRE on the femoral nerve during acute-to-delayed periods in a rabbit model.

Material And Methods: Ultrasound-guided IRE of femoral neurovascular bundles was performed in seven rabbits.

Transcatheter Interventions in Adult Congenital Heart Disease.

This article provides a detailed review of the current practices and future directions of transcatheter interventions in adults with congenital heart disease. This includes indications for intervention, risks, and potential complications, as well as a review of available devices and their performance.

Hepatic artery stenosis angioplasty and implantation of Wingspan neurovascular stent: A case report and discussion of stenting in tortuous vessels.

Background: Hepatic artery stenosis is a complication of orthotopic liver transplant occurring in 3.1%-7.4% of patients that can result in graft failure and need for re-transplantation.

Retrograde Transvenous Obliteration (RTO): A New Treatment Option for Hepatic Encephalopathy.

Hepatic Encephalopathy (HE) is a complication of liver disease, consisting of brain dysfunction often due to portosystemic shunting of blood flow in the liver. HE can range from minimal HE, presenting with normal neurological function, to overt HE, with neurological and neuropsychiatric abnormalities. Various clinical grading systems are used to differentiate HE to provide the appropriate treatments.

Role of Transjugular Intrahepatic Portosystemic Shunt in the Management of Portal Hypertension: Review and Update of the Literature.

Transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS) is a well-established procedure used in the management of complications of portal hypertension. Although the most robust evidence supports the use of TIPS as salvage therapy in variceal hemorrhage, secondary prophylaxis of variceal bleeding, and treatment of refractory ascites, there is also data to suggest its efficacy in other indications such as hepatic hydrothorax, hepatorenal syndrome, and Budd-Chiari syndrome. Recent literature also suggests that TIPS may improve survival for certain subpopulations if placed early after variceal bleeding.

Technical success and outcomes in pediatric patients undergoing transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt placement: a 20-year experience.

Background: Transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS) placement has been extensively studied in adults. The experience with TIPS placement in pediatric patients, however, is limited.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to report technical success and clinical outcomes in pediatric patients undergoing TIPS placement.

Endobronchial Forceps-Assisted Removal of Gianturco Z-Stents from the Right Atrium.

Endovascular treatment of malignant intrahepatic inferior vena cava stenosis involves venoplasty and stenting. Intravascular migration is a complication associated with stents. This technical report describes the retrieval of migrated intracardiac Gianturco Z-stents using rigid endobronchial forceps.

A reality check in transradial access: a single-centre comparison of transradial and transfemoral access for abdominal and peripheral intervention.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to describe a single institution's experience with transradial access (TRA) for angiographic interventions, and to compare technical success, complication rate and radiation dose of procedures performed with TRA to those performed with transfemoral access (TFA).

Methods: A retrospective cohort study of patients undergoing peripheral interventions via TRA or TFA from 2015 to 2017 was performed. The cohort comprised 33 patients undergoing 44 procedures via TRA and 37 patients undergoing 44 procedures via TFA.

2017 update on pain management in patients with chronic kidney disease.

The prevalence of pain has been reported to be >60-70% among patients with advanced and end-stage kidney disease. Although the underlying etiologies of pain may vary, pain per se has been linked to lower quality of life and depression. The latter is of great concern given its known association with reduced survival among patients with end-stage kidney disease.

Nationwide trends and predictors of inpatient mortality in 83884 transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt.

Aim: To evaluate and validate the national trends and predictors of in-patient mortality of transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS) in 15 years.

Methods: Using the National Inpatient Sample which is a part of Health Cost and Utilization Project, we identified a discharge-weighted national estimate of 83884 TIPS procedures performed in the United States from 1998 to 2012 using international classification of diseases-9 procedural code 39.1.

Inpatient Cost Assessment of Transjugular Intrahepatic Portosystemic Shunt in the USA from 2001 to 2012.

Background: Despite widespread use of transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS) for treatment of portal hypertension, a paucity of nationwide data exists on predictors of the economic impact related to TIPS.

Aims: Using the National Inpatient Sample (NIS) database from 2001 to 2012, we aimed to evaluate factors contributing to hospital cost of patients admitted to US hospitals for TIPS.

Methods: Using the NIS, we identified a discharge-weighted national estimate of 61,004 TIPS procedures from 2001 to 2012.

Electron microscopic demonstration and evaluation of irreversible electroporation-induced nanopores on hepatocyte membranes.

Purpose: To demonstrate, evaluate, and verify the existence of irreversible electroporation (IRE)-ablation induced nanopores on the plasma membrane of hepatocytes.

Materials And Methods: On animal research committee approval, four New Zealand rabbits and two Yorkshire swine underwent IRE ablation of the liver (90 pulses, 100 μs per pulse at 2,500 V), and selected ablated liver tissues were harvested, fixed, and air-dried according to the electron microscopy (EM) protocol. A scanning electron microscope (SEM; Nova 230 NanoSEM [FEI, Hillsboro, Oregon] with 80 picoamperes and 10-kV acceleration) was used to visualize and verify IRE-created nanopores.

Advanced hepatic ablation technique for creating complete cell death: irreversible electroporation.

Purpose: To evaluate the effectiveness of irreversible electroporation (IRE) in hepatic tissue ablation and the radiologic-pathologic correlation of IRE-induced cell death.

Materials And Methods: On approval of the animal research committee, 16 Yorkshire pigs underwent ultrasonography (US)-guided IRE of normal liver. A total of 55 ablation zones were created, which were imaged with US, magnetic resonance (MR) imaging, and computed tomography (CT) and evaluated with immunohistochemical analysis, including hematoxylin-eosin (H-E), Von Kossa, and von Willibrand factor (vWF) staining and terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) assay.