Noninvasive vascular occlusion with HIFU for venous insufficiency treatment: preclinical feasibility experience in rabbits.

Venous insufficiency is a common disease arising when veins of the lower limb become incompetent. A conventional surgical strategy consists in stripping the incompetent veins. However, this treatment option is invasive and carries complication risks. In the present study, we propose noninvasive high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) to treat lower limbs venous insufficiency, in particular incompetent perforating veins (mean diameter between 2-6 mm). Sonication parameters were designed by numerical simulations using the k-Wave toolbox to ensure continuous coagulation of a vein with a diameter superior or equal to 2 mm. The selected ultrasound exposures were 4 s pulses in continuous wave mode. Two types of sonication were studied: (1) fixed pulses and (2) moving pulses at constant speed (0.75 mm s-1) across the vein. The potential of these exposures to thermally occlude veins were investigated in vivo on rabbit saphenous veins. The impact of vein compression during ultrasonic exposure was also investigated. Fifteen rabbits were used in these trials. A total of 27 saphenous veins (mean diameter 2.0 ± 0.6 mm) were sonicated with a transducer operated at 3 MHz. After a mean 15 d follow-up, rabbits were euthanized and venous samples were extracted and sent for histologic assessment. Only samples with the vein within the HIFU lesion were considered for analysis. Simulated thermal damage distribution demonstrated that fixed pulses and moving pulses respectively placed every 1.5 and 0.5 mm along the vein and delivered at an acoustic power of 85 W and for 4 s were able to induce continuous thermal damages along the vein segments. Experimentally, both treatment parameters (1) and (2) have proven effective to occlude veins with a success rate of 82%. Occlusion was always observed when compression was applied. Our results demonstrate that HIFU can durably and non-invasively occlude veins of diameters comparable to human veins.

[Spontaneous hepatic rupture during an uncomplicated twin pregnancy]. / Rupture hépatique spontanée au cours d'une grossesse gémellaire non compliquée.

Liver subcapsular haematoma and its consequence, spontaneous hepatic rupture, are very rare complications of pregnancy. They are mainly associated with pre-eclampsia. The diagnosis is difficult and the maternal and fetal mortality rates are high. We report the case of a spontaneous hepatic rupture on a normal liver during an uncomplicated twin pregnancy with a favorable outcome for both the mother and the newborns.

[Ovarian remnant syndrome: diagnostic difficulties and management]. / Syndrome de l'ovaire rémanent: difficultés diagnostiques et stratégies thérapeutiques.

OBJECTIVES: The ovarian remnant syndrome is a rare condition after unilateral or bilateral oophorectomy, with or without a hysterectomy. This syndrome occurs when a fragment of ovarian tissue is left behind and becomes functional and cystic. The purpose of this study is to report the cases of patients treated surgically for an ovarian remnant syndrome during the last 10 years and to recall the diagnostic and therapeutic difficulties. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A retrospective, observational study was carried out between 1997 and 2006. Seven patients were treated surgically for an ovarian remnant syndrome. Perioperative data analysis (history, surgical techniques, and postoperative follow-up) was carried out. RESULTS: The mean age of the patients was 46 years (36-55). The number of previous abdominal surgical procedures ranged from 2 to 5. The syndrome appeared after a mean period of 4 years and 4 months (range 5 months-12 years) after oophorectomy. Among the 7 patients, 3 had had a previous hysterectomy. Pelvic pain was found in all cases. Gonadotropin-releasing hormones agonists were used in 1 patient without success. Aspiration was performed in 2 cases before surgical treatment. Two patients underwent a laparotomy in the first place. Laparoscopy was performed in 5 cases and laparoconversion was necessary in 1 case. Intraoperative difficulties and anatomic variations were found in all cases. Ureteral catheters were placed in 2 cases. Radiotherapy was performed in 1 patient who had a recurrent ovarian remnant. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: The ovarian remnant syndrome is a rare complication. Surgery, either by laparoscopy or by laparotomy, is the recommended treatment. These operations are often difficult and associated with a high risk of complications. Histologically, remnant ovarian tissue associated with hemorragic corpus luteum cysts is the most common finding. The prevention of the ovarian remnant syndrome is based on rigorous surgical treatment during the oophorectomy so as not to leave behind ovarian tissue.

[Maternal death after spontaneous rupture of a uterine artery immediately following delivery: a case report]. / Décès maternel après rupture spontanée d'une artère utérine dans le post-partum immédiat : à propos d'un cas.

We report the case of a maternal death occurring after spontaneous rupture of a uterine artery immediately following delivery. The patient presented abdominal pain and a collapsus one hour after a normal delivery. Laparotomy revealed massive haemoperitoneum and intraperitoneal bleeding from the right uterine artery. Ligature of the uterine artery and hemostasis hysterectomy were performed but the patient died of multivisceral failure 18 h after the delivery. This is the first case report of maternal death occurring after spontaneous rupture of a uterine artery.

[Postmenopausal malignant transformation of extragenital endometriosis. A case report]. / Transformation maligne postménopausique d'une endométriose extragénitale. A propos d'un cas.

Malignant transformation of endometriosis is a rare event. The ovaries are the most common sites reported in the literature. Postmenopausal cancer arising in extragenital endometriosis is still more exceptional. Hormone replacement therapy and perhaps, to a lesser extent, Tamoxifen could be risk factors for the malignant transformation of endometriosis. We herein report the case of a patient who has developed, after 11 years of hormone replacement therapy, an extragenital endometrioid carcinoma in the vesico-uterine pouch.

[Prenatal diagnosis and management of a case of rapidly involuting congenital hemangioma. Review of literature]. / Diagnostic prénatal et prise en charge d'un cas d'hémangiome congénital du cuir chevelu.

Rapidly involuting congenital hemangioma (RICH) is a rare vascular lesion, identified in 1996, of elective localization in the dermal-hypodermic tissue. Its name comes from its particular natural course: it is fully developed at birth and then completely involutes, usually in the first year. We present a case of a RICH of the scalp discovered with a screening ultrasonography in the 31st week of gestation. We list the differential diagnoses. After birth, positive diagnosis lies preferably on pathology examination of a biopsy specimen in order to eliminate the hypothesis of a less favorable vascular lesion, teratoma or malignant tumor.