No abstract

HighlightsLeiomyosarcomas are rare causes of superior vena cava syndrome.Surgery is the treatment of choice.Specific approaches depend on the neoplasm's size and invasion of neighbouring tissues.

Left ventricular endomyocardial biopsies were obtained in 19 infants and children using a long sheath as an introducer after transseptal puncture of the atrial septum. From July 1982 to August 1983, 19 patients, ages 7 months to 12 years (mean = 4.6 years), underwent both right and left ventricular biopsies with only one failure. The long sheath technique allows positioning of the bioptome in different areas of the left ventricular chamber. Right ventricular biopsies were also obtained with the long sheath technique in 11 other patients.

High-altitude pulmonary edema potentially is fatal. Adults with unilateral absence of a right pulmonary artery are particularly susceptible to high-altitude pulmonary edema. The occurrence of high-altitude pulmonary edema was documented in a child with congenital absence of the right pulmonary artery. Improvement occurred only upon descent to low altitude. Physicians should be aware of this life-threatening condition in children ascending to high altitude, particularly in individuals with unilateral absence of a pulmonary artery.