The keys to successful TIPS in patients with portal vein thrombosis and cavernous transformation. / Trombosis y cavernomatosis portal: las claves para el éxito de un TIPS.

Portal vein thrombosis is a common complication in patients with cirrhosis. Anticoagulation involves a high risk of bleeding secondary to portal hypertension, so placing transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunts (TIPS) has become an alternative treatment for portal vein thrombosis. Three strategies for TIPS placement have been reported: 1) portal recanalization and conventional implantation of the TIPS through the jugular vein; 2) portal recanalization through percutaneous transhepatic/transsplenic) access; and (3) insertion of the TIPS between the suprahepatic vein and a periportal collateral vessel without portal recanalization. We describe different materials that can be used as fluoroscopic targets for the TIPS needle and for portal recanalization. This article aims to show the success of TIPS implantation using different combinations of the techniques listed above, which is a good treatment alternative in these patients whose clinical condition makes them difficult to manage, and to show that portal vein thrombosis/cavernous transformation should not be considered a contraindication for TIPS.

Histologic study of the effects of chemoembolization with preloaded doxorubicin beads in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the degree of tumor necrosis in surgical specimens of hepatocellular carcinomas treated with microspheres preloaded with doxorubicin and to analyze the relationship between the degree of necrosis and a) morphologic factors and b) imaging biomarkers. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We studied the livers of 21 patients who had undergone selective arterial chemoembolization with DC beads (Biocompatibles, UK) before receiving liver transplants. RESULTS: Imaging techniques detected 43 nodules (mean size, 25 mm). Angiography showed 25 hypervascularized nodules, 12 slightly vascularized nodules, and 6 avascular nodules. A total of 81 hepatocellular carcinomas (mean size, 15 mm) were detected in the specimens: two were capsular and two had vascular infiltration. The mean degree of necrosis after chemoembolization was 39%; necrosis was greater than 60% in 28 hepatocellular carcinomas and less than 60% in 52. The degree of necrosis correlated significantly with the time elapsed between the last chemoembolization treatment and liver transplantation (the degree of necrosis decreased as time increased), with the number of nodules in the specimen, and with capsular infiltration. When imaging techniques detected 1 or 2 nodules, there was a greater probability of achieving greater than 90% necrosis. No relation with the degree of necrosis achieved was found for the size of the nodules detected at imaging, the enhancement pattern, or the number of chemoembolization treatments. CONCLUSION: The degree of necrosis achieved depends on the time spent on the waiting list, on the number of nodules in the specimen, and on whether capsular infiltration is present.

[Transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunting with covered stents in children: a preliminary study of safety and patency]. / TIPS recubierto en niños. Estudio preliminar sobre su seguridad y permeabilidad.

OBJECTIVE: To retrospectively analyze the safety and efficacy of transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunting (TIPS) using covered stents in children. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We present 6 children (mean age, 10.6 years; mean weight, 33.5kg) who underwent TIPS with 8mm diameter Viatorr(®) covered stents for acute (n=4) or recurrent (n=2) upper digestive bleeding that could not be controlled by endoscopic measures. Five of the children had cirrhosis and the other had portal vein thrombosis with cavernous transformation. We analyzed the relapse of upper digestive bleeding, the complications that appeared, and the patency of the TIPS shunt on sequential Doppler ultrasonography or until transplantation. RESULTS: A single stent was implanted in a single session in each child; none of the children died. The mean transhepatic gradient decreased from 16mmHg (range: 12-21mmHg) before the procedure to 9mmHg (range: 1-15mmHg) after TIPS. One patient developed mild encephalopathy, and the girl who had portal vein thrombosis with cavernous transformation developed an acute occlusion of the TIPS that resolved after the implantation of a coaxial stent. Three children received transplants (7, 9, and 10 months after the procedure, respectively), and the patency of the TIPS was confirmed at transplantation. In the three remaining children, patency was confirmed with Doppler ultrasonography 1, 3, and 5 months after implantation. None of the children had new episodes of upper digestive bleeding during follow-up after implantation (mean: 8.1 months). CONCLUSION: Our results indicate that TIPS with 8mm diameter Viatorr(®) covered stents can be safe and efficacious for the treatment of upper digestive bleeding due to gastroesophageal varices in cirrhotic children; our findings need to be corroborated in larger series.

[Radiofrequency ablation of renal tumors: Practical aspects and results]. / Ablación por radiofrecuencia de tumores renales. Aspectos prácticos y resultados.

OBJECTIVES: To report our experience in percutaneous radiofrequency ablation of renal tumors, emphasizing technical aspects and indications and analyzing our results. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed 20 tumors in 13 patients (10 with a single kidney, 2 who had refused surgical treatment, and 1 with severe comorbidities). All procedures were carried out using the radiofrequency interstitial tumor ablation (RITA) technique under general anesthesia and CT guidance. All patients underwent follow-up CT examination with and without intravenous contrast administration; the absence of enhancement was considered complete necrosis. RESULTS: The mean size of the tumors was 2.8 cm. Complete necrosis was achieved in 17 tumors (85%); complete necrosis was achieved in 100% of the exophytic tumors and in 50% of the tumors with mixed growth after 14 months' follow-up. Complete ablation was achieved in 15 of the 16 tumors measuring < or =3.5 cm. In 9 of the 10 patients with a single kidney (four of whom had more than one tumor), renal function remained normal after the procedure; the other patient developed hydronephrosis after a urinary tract lesion and died. The patient who died also developed a subcapsular liver lesion that did not require transfusion when another tumor was treated transhepatically. CONCLUSION: In experienced hands and with careful selection of patients (exophytic tumors < or =3.5 cm), radiofrequency ablation of renal tumors can achieve excellent oncologic results with minimal morbidity and mortality.

[Histological study of the effect of pre-transplant chemoembolization of hepatocellular carcinoma]. / Estudio histopatológico del efecto de la quimioembolización pretrasplante en el hepatocarcinoma.

OBJECTIVE: To retrospectively evaluate the degree of necrosis brought about by chemoembolization of hepatocellular carcinoma by correlating the histological study of livers explanted in liver transplantations with morphological (number, size, histological type, encapsulation, and vascular invasion) and technical (angiographic patterns, number of sessions, and level of chemoembolization) factors of the tumors. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Seventeen cirrhotic patients that underwent chemoembolization of hepatocellular carcinoma prior to liver transplantation were studied. Chemoembolization consisted of introducing adriamycin, lipiodol, and particles of polyvinyl alcohol into the hepatic artery. The explanted livers were studied macroscopically and microscopically, evaluating the degree of necrosis achieved in each of the nodules found. RESULTS: A total of 32 nodules (26 hepatocellular carcinomas and 7 type II dysplastic nodules) were detected in 16 patients; the remaining patient had multiple hepatocellular carcinomas. The mean size of the hepatocellular carcinomas was 3.2 cms (range 0.4-7.5) and the mean size of the dysplastic nodules was 1.2 cm (range 1-1.7). Greater than 90% necrosis was achieved in 17 (68%) of the 25 hepatocellular carcinomas; 6 of these lesions were encapsulated and none had vascular infiltration. In the patient with multiple hepatocellular carcinomas (all were hypervascularized and had no capsule), the degree of necrosis achieved was < 30% in each lesion. In three patients with nodular vascular infiltration, multiple nodules were present; the necrosis achieved in these lesions ranged from 0%-70%, and extrahepatic metastases after transplantation. Eighteen of the hepatocellular carcinomas had a hypervascularized angiographic pattern and seven were hypovascular or avascular. In the seven type II dysplastic nodules (none of which was encapsulated), no necrosis was achieved. These nodules were found in three patients; all but one were avascular and coincided with simultaneous hepatocellular carcinomas in two patients. CONCLUSION: The greatest degree of necrosis was achieved in single, encapsulated, hypervascularized hepatocellular carcinomas without vascular infiltration. Chemoembolization fails to achieve necrosis in dysplastic nodules.

[Practical aspects in the percutaneous extraction of foreign bodies using a Goose-Neck Snare]. / Aspectos prácticos de la extracción percutánea de cuerpos extraños con lazo recuperador.

OBJECTIVE: To present our clinical experience in the extraction of different foreign bodies (from vascular or other sites) using a goose-neck snare in 13 patients, with emphasis on practical and technical aspects used during the procedures. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A total of 13 foreign bodies, including 9 intravascular objects and 4 in other locations, were included. The intravascular foreign bodies were stents (n = 2), coils (n = 2), fragments of broken central venous catheters (n = 3), and fragments of broken balloon catheters (n = 2). The nonvascular foreign bodies were fragments of broken double-J catheters (n = 2), one double-J catheter located entirely within the calyces of the kidney, and a fragment of a broken metallic guide wire in an intrahepatic bile duct. Goose-Neck Snares of different diameters (depending on the location) were used to extract the foreign bodies. Forceps were used as an auxiliary device in one patient with a fragment of double-J catheter, and in another case with a catheter fragment in a pulmonary vein, a pigtail catheter was also used to move the fragment and facilitate its extraction with the Goose-Neck Snare. RESULTS: All of the foreign bodies were successfully extracted except a transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt that migrated to the right heart cavities and was correctly repositioned in the right brachiocephalic venous trunk. No complications of any kind were seen during the procedures. CONCLUSIONS: The Goose-Neck Snare is very useful, safe, and versatile for the extraction of different types of foreign bodies in different territories. Especially in vascular territories, it is necessary to have ample knowledge about and experience in the different techniques used for catheterization.