Compressive hematoma due to pseudoaneurysm of the right hepatic artery: a rare cause of obstructive jaundice after single-port cholecystectomy.

Single-port laparoscopic cholecystectomy is considered as a form of natural orifice surgery with better esthetic outcomes than traditional laparoscopic cholecystectomy. It is a technically demanding procedure, and no adequately powered trial has assessed the safety of this technique. Vascular injuries are less common than bile duct injuries during this procedure, but they can be rapidly fatal. The development of a right hepatic artery pseudoaneurysm is a rare but serious complication associated with single-port laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Two weeks following a single-port laparoscopic cholecystectomy for angiocholitis, a 40-year-old male patient presented with obstructive jaundice and persistent abdominal pain. The diagnosis of compressive hematoma due to a ruptured right hepatic artery pseudoaneurysm was confirmed by computed tomography scan and angiography. It was successfully treated by selective embolization of the right hepatic artery. In our experience, endovascular management was a noninvasive and effective treatment of ruptured pseudoaneurysms.

Incidence of pulmonary cement embolism after real-time CT fluoroscopy-guided vertebroplasty.

PURPOSE: To prospectively evaluate the incidence of pulmonary cement embolism (PCE) after vertebroplasty in procedures performed under real-time computed tomographic (CT) fluoroscopy guidance. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 85 vertebroplasties were performed in 51 consecutive patients (31 women, 20 men; mean age, 71.9 y; range, 48-92 y) in 51 sessions. The needle was inserted with guidance from intermittent single-shot CT scans, and intermittent CT fluoroscopy was used during cement injection only. To reduce the risk of extravertebral or extraosseous leakage, several procedures (cement injection stopping/slowing, needle position changes) were employed. The chest and treated bone were scanned immediately after vertebroplasty. These CT images included the entire thorax as well as the treated vertebrae. RESULTS: No cement emboli were observed on CT after vertebroplasty. After 85 vertebroplasty procedures, 44 extravertebral leaks were detected. Epidural leaks were observed on CT in six treated vertebrae (7%), in 12 cases in the anterior external venous plexus (14.1%), in five in the azygos vein (5.8%), in 19 in the disc space (22%), and in two in the foraminal space (2.3%). On a per-patient basis, the odds of leaks increased with the number of vertebroplasties (P = .05) and the volume of cement used (P = .0412). There was also a higher probability of leak (P < .05) for osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures (67.9%; 95% confidence interval, 47.7%-84.1%) than osteolytic spinal metastases (34.8%; 16.4%-57.3%). CONCLUSIONS: PCE did not occur after vertebroplasty under CT fluoroscopy guidance. Further larger prospective vertebroplasty studies are needed to compare the rates of PCE for CT versus conventional fluoroscopic guidance.

Peripherally inserted central catheter placement in cancer patients with profound thrombocytopaenia: a prospective analysis.

OBJECTIVE: No studies have specifically evaluated the safety of peripherally inserted central catheter (PICC) placement in patients with profound thrombocytopaenia. We prospectively determined the frequency of haemorrhagic complications of PICC placement in cancer patients with uncorrected profound thrombocytopaenia. METHODS: Profound thrombocytopaenia was defined as a platelet count <50 × 10(9)/l. No patients received transfusions before or after the procedure. Three types of adverse effects were analysed: minor oozing, mild haematoma and major haemorrhage. RESULTS: One hundred and forty-three PICC implantations in 101 cancer patients were prospectively included in the study: seven patients (7 %) had a solid tumour and 94 (93 %) a haematological malignancy. Among these 143 procedures in thrombocytopaenic patients, 93 (65 %) were performed with a platelet count 20-50 × 10(9)/l and 50 (35 %) had lower than 20 × 10(9)/l. No major haemorrhage was observed. Minor oozing was observed in six implantations (4 %) and mild haematoma in two (1.5 %), for a total of eight minor haemorrhagic adverse events (5.5 %). In patients with a platelet count <20 × 10(9)/l, 1/50 (2 %) had minor oozing and none had minor haematoma. CONCLUSIONS: In cancer patients with uncorrected profound thrombocytopaenia, the incidence of adverse events after PICC implantation was low, and was limited to minor haemorrhagic adverse events. KEY POINTS: • PICC placement has high technical success in profound thrombocytopaenic cancer patients. • Few adverse events are encountered after PICC placement, limited to minor haemorrhage. • PICC placement does not routinely require platelet transfusion in patients with thrombocytopaenia. • Such PICC placement still seems safe when the platelet count is <20 × 10 (9) /l.