Bahri Ustunsoz

Results of Surgical, Laparoscopic, and Percutaneous Treatment for Hydatid Disease of the Liver: 10 Years Experience with 355 Patients

Selection of the most appropriate treatment to obtain the best results with the lowest rate of recurrence and minimal morbidity and mortality is mandatory for the management of hepatic hydatid disease. The surgical approach is the mainstay of treatment, and there has been a tendency toward laparoscopic surgery and, more recently, percutaneous treatment (PT), which has become increasingly popular with revolutions in techniques. We aimed to evaluate the results of current therapeutic methods in the context of a 10-year single-institution experience. Between 1992 and 2003, 355 patients with 510 hydatid cysts of the liver were treated by open operation, laparoscopic surgery, or PT. The series included 128 females and 227 males ranging in age from 10 years to 73 years. Preferred treatment modalities, perioperative complications, interventions, recurrences, and length of hospital stay were retrospectively analyzed. There were two postoperative deaths (1.08%) in the open surgery group. Biliary leakage was observed in 28 patients treated with open surgery, in 10 patients after PT, and in 2 after laparoscopic treatment. Recurrence rates were 16.2%, 3.3%, and 3.5% after open surgery, laparoscopic surgery, and percutaneous treatment, respectively. Characteristics of the cyst, presence of cystobiliary communications, and the availability of a multidisciplinary team are the factors that we believe directly affect the results. Radical surgery can be done safely for suitable cases; conventional procedures are associated with greater morbidity. Laparoscopic surgery seems effective and safe, with low morbidity and recurrence rates for type I–III cysts in accessible localizations. Our experience with PAIR (puncture, aspiration, injection, and reaspiration) and catheterization provides evidence that the procedure is an effective and safe option.

Massive lower gastrointestinal hemorrhage from the surgical anastomosis in patients with multiorgan trauma: treatment by subselective embolization with polyvinyl alcohol particles.

Purpose: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of subselective arterial embolization with polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) particles with or without microcoil augmentation to control postoperative lower gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding.Methods: Ten patients with clinical, scintigraphic, and angiographic evidence of postoperative lower GI bleeding were considered for subselective embolization. Subselective embolizations were performed through coaxial microcatheters with 355–500 µm PVA particles with or without additional coil embolization.Results: Embolization was technically successful in 9 of 10 (90%) patients. In one patient, subselective embolization was not possible; consequently no embolization was performed. Clinical success was achieved after a single embolization in 6 of 10 (60%) patients and after a second embolization in an additional 3 of the 10 (30%) patients. While there was no rebleeding in patients with normal coagulation parameters, all three patients (100%) with coagulopathy rebled, two of them from another source. Although no acute ischemic effects developed, no long-term sequela such as ischemic stricture were specifically looked for. Seven patients developed abdominal discomfort and/or fever within 24–48 hr. Four of 10 patients died of complications other than hemorrhage or ischemia.Conclusion: Subselective PVA embolization with or without a microcoil embolization is an effective and safe means of managing postoperative lower GI hemorrhage in patients with multiorgan trauma.

PERCUTANEOUS TREATMENT OF HEPATIC HYDATID CYST IN PREGNANCY

Abstract. A 20 cm hepatic hydatid cyst with daughter cysts, was diagnosed in a primigravida in the fifteenth week of pregnancy and was managed percutaneously. No complications occurred and the patient subsequently gave birth to a healthy baby.

Percutaneous Management of Ureteral Injuries that are Diagnosed Late After Cesarean Section

Objective We wanted to present the results of percutaneous management of ureteral injuries that were diagnosed late after cesarean sections (CS). Materials and Methods Twenty-two cases with 24 ureteral injuries that were diagnosed late after CS underwent percutaneous nephrostomy (PN), antegrade double J (DJ) catheter placement and balloon dilatation or a combination of these. The time for making the diagnosis was 21 ± 50.1 days. The injury site was the distal ureter in all cases (the left ureter: 13, the right ureter: 7 and bilateral: 2). Fifteen complete ureteral obstructions were detected in 13 cases. Ureteral leakage due to partial (n = 4) or complete (n = 3) rupture was noted in seven cases. Two cases had ureterovaginal fistula. All the cases were initially confirmed with antegrade pyelography and afterwards they underwent percutaneous nephrostomy. Balloon dilatation was needed in three cases. Antegrade DJ stents were placed in 10 cases, including the three cases with balloon dilatation. Repetititon of percutaneous nephrostomy with balloon dilatation and DJ stent placement was needed in one case with complete obstruction. All the cases were followed-up with US in their first week and then monthly thereafter for up to two years. Results Eighteen ureters (75%) were managed by percutaneous procedures alone. A total of six ureter injuries had to undergo surgery (25%). Conclusion Percutaneous management is a good alternative for the treatment of post-CS ureteral injuries that are diagnosed late after CS. Percutaneous management is at least preparatory for a quarter of the cases where surgery is unavoidable.

Percutaneous treatment of a primary pancreatic hydatid cyst using a catheterization technique.

Primary pancreatic hydatid cysts are rare and its percutaneous treatment and catheterization technique has, to the best of our knowledge, not been published in literature. A 33-year-old male patient who presented with abdominal pain was evaluated by ultrasonography (US) and computed tomography examinations. Both examinations revealed a cyst in the neck of the pancreas. After the administration of albendazole chemoprophylaxis, the patient underwent diagnostic puncture showing high pressure spring water which harbored the scoleces and was treated percutaneously by the catheterization technique. In this technique, first the cyst was punctured, the fluid content aspirated, the radiocontrast material injected to see possible fistulisation, and then re-aspirated. The 20% hypertonic saline solution was injected and re-aspiration was performed to the best of our abilities, followed by the insertion of a catheter for drainage of the remaining non-aspiratable fluid content. At follow-up examination, the cyst was not visible on US after 6 months. There was no evidence of cyst recurrence or dissemination after 18 months at serologic and imaging follow-up.

Acute ischemic cholecystitis after transarterial chemoembolization with drug-eluting beads

Transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) is a widely used treatment choice for hepatocellular cancer. DC Bead microspheres are a new embolic material for TACE that doxorubicin can be loaded to. The tumor response rate of this well-tolerated treatment was changed between 60% and 81.8%. We report a case of ischemic cholecystitis after TACE with drug-eluting beads (DEB) that required cholecystectomy. The possibility of cholecystitis is always remembered during TACE-DEB for tumors in segment IV and/or V. Although selective catheterization is related with a lower risk for ischemic cholecystitis, the anatomic and vascular variability in patients with malignancy may lead to some unexpected conditions.

Missed Total Occlusion Due to the Occipital Artery Arising from the Internal Carotid Artery

A 56-year-old man was referred for digital subtraction angiography (DSA) with an ultrasound diagnosis of right proximal internal carotid artery (ICA) stenosis for possible carotid artery stenting. DSA revealed total occlusion of the ICA and an occipital artery arising from the stump and simulating continuation of the ICA. An ascending pharyngeal artery also arose from the same occipital artery. This case is of interest because this is a rare variation besides being a cause of misdiagnosis at carotid ultrasound.

A different approach to missile induced head injuries

Missile induced head injuries can be influenced by the anatomical location of the injury, i.e. type of tissue and by the ballistic properties such as the design of the weapon and the mass, shape and construction of the projectile, as well as its velocity characteristics and trajectory angle. In the diagnostic work up of the patients with missile induced head injuries, every available modality can be used. It is important, however, to recognize that CT scan is the primary and most efficacious diagnostic tool in such patients. In this article we have identified risk factors for both morbidity and mortality in patients with missile induced head injury with excluding the patients who had also extracranial serious trauma and systemic disease.

Complete disappearance of uptake of FDG in the multifocal liver hemangioendothelioma after radioembolization therapy using yttrium-90 microspheres.

Hemangioendothelioma (HE) is an intermediate grade tumor that originates from vascular endothelium. It is rarely encountered in the liver as multifocal lesions. In the treatment of the hepatic HE, surgical resection, chemotherapy, interferon-alpha 2 therapy and liver transplantation have been described in the literature. Intra-arterial radioembolization therapy with yttrium-90 microsphere is an advanced and promising technique in the treatment of hepatic multifocal HEs. In this report, we aimed to present pre- and post-treatment radio-nuclear imaging features and to discuss radioembolization technique in a 56-year-old patient with multifocal liver HE.

Craniospinal involvement in a patient with isolated bone marrow mastocytosis. A case report.

Central nervous system involvement in systemic mastocytosis (SM) is very rare. This case report describes the computed tomography and magnetic resonance (MR) imaging findings of central nervous system involvement in a patient with isolated bone marrow mastocystosis. Bone marrow infiltration in SM caused cranial nerve dysfunction and meningeal irritation secondary to narrowing of cranial apertures and meningeal involvement, respectively. MR imaging is the modality of choice in both detection and follow-up of SM and also useful for differential diagnosis and detection of complications.