Complications of pancreatitis such as pseudocyst formation and abscess are well known to radiologists. Secondary formation of pseudoaneurysms has not been emphasized in the radiologic literature. The great morbidity and mortality associated with pseudoaneurysms emphasize the importance of early detection. Three patients are described whose angiographically proved pseudoaneurysms were demonstrated on contrast material-enhanced abdominal CT scans obtained for evaluation of pancreatitis. A homogeneously enhancing structure within or adjacent to a pancreatic pseudocyst or contiguous with a vascular structure should be considered highly suspicious for an associated pseudoaneurysm.
Esophageal perforation resulting from foreign body ingestion is a rare occurrence. Most of the complications associated with this event, such as retroesophageal abscess, mediastinitis, pericarditis, pneumothorax, and pneumomediastinum, are widely recognized. However, little attention has been directed to the possibility of vascular injury caused by the perforating object. Isolated case reports have described significant morbidity and mortality subsequent to major vascular trauma resulting from an esophageal foreign body, usually emphasizing the presence of a "signal" hemorrhage from the gastrointestinal tract as a key to diagnosis. This report describes a case of esophageal perforation caused by an ingested fishbone that resulted in significant aerodigestive hemorrhage, possibly as the result of an unusual isolated vascular injury. The literature on vascular trauma following foreign body perforation of the esophagus is reviewed, and suggestions for the diagnosis and treatment of these dreaded complications are made.
Percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA) was used to treat 109 patients with 141 renal artery stenoses, including 58 patients in whom medical management was unsuccessful. The initial success rate was 94%. Fifty-five patients had severe diffuse atherosclerosis and 40 had renal insufficiency. Thus far, 36 patients (50 stenoses) have undergone a total of 52 follow-up angiographic studies. Clinical data, including blood pressure response, were obtained in all cases. Only 7 of the 98 hypertensive patients failed to respond to PTA. Of the 11 patients treated primarily for renal insufficiency, 5 improved. Of the 29 hypertensive patients who also had elevated BUN and creatinine, renal function improved in 13. Altogether, 96 patients (88%) benefited from the procedure. Analysis of long-term results suggests that PTA should be the treatment of choice for fibromuscular dysplasia and short, segmental atherosclerotic lesions and could also prove helpful in improving renal insufficiency.
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