Culotte bifurcation stenting with paclitaxel drug-eluting stent.

The results of using the culotte bifurcation technique have not been promising with regard to bare metal stents; however, some possible advantages with regard to drug-eluting stents (DES) must be taken into account, such as the possibility to stent provisionally, to use lower French sizes, and to completely cover the coronary wall and the new carina with a single or double stent layer. The crush technique, which aims to reach a complete coverage of the coronary wall to allow antiproliferative drugs to homogeneously distribute into the coronary walls, has been introduced. The culotte technique seems to act more physiologically, allowing the creation of a new, homogeneously covered carina, without any crushed metal inside the coronary wall.

Significance of the effective remnant liver volume in major hepatectomies.

The aim of this study is to identify the minimum safe amount of effective remnant liver volume (ERLV) in patients undergoing a major hepatectomy. Thirty-eight consecutive major hepatectomies (resection of > or = 3 Couinaud segments) performed between July 1999 and March 2004 in which a frozen section liver biopsy was obtained were included. No patient had chronic viral hepatitis, cirrhosis, or cholestasis.