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Background: In the United States, transjugular renal biopsies using the Quickcore™ side cut needle system have previously been described primarily for transjugular renal biopsy in patients with concurrent liver and kidney disease.

THE SYNDROME OF LOW BACK PAIN, with various sciatic nerve symptoms, is now a well recognized entity and constitutes one of the major groups of chronic disabling conditions occurring in individuals during t'he most productive years of life. One of the etiologic conditions has now been scientifically established; that it is no longer a hypothesis has been demonstrated by sound research work in the past IO years. Statistics indicate that alterations in the structure and contour of the intervertebral disc at the 4th and 5th lumbar spaces are responsible for a large percentage of disabling conditions in the low back. Although the etiology and pathology are well recognized, the treatment remains a very controversial subject. The basis of this is the lack of uniformly good results.The purpose of this publication is to present a technic fashioned to improve upon some of the previously known principles thought to be prime factors in obtaining good results in the treatment of degenerative changes in intervertebral discs. It is not intended in this presentation to offer any contributions or criticisms of present methods of diagnosis or other clinical relations, except in so far as they may be connected with the present surgical technic described.Poppen' in a review of 400 postoperative disc cases noted perfect results in only 38 per cent, the remainder having varying degrees of disability classed as undesirable. Kirstein2 reports 72 per cent of his operated cases as free from "sciatica," 48 per cent completely free from local back symptoms, and only 24 per cent as symptom-free. DeBakey reports on 2,450 cases of ruptured intervertebral discs in the U. S. Army to the date of August, I944. Analysis of these cases reveals that 75 per cent of the group were treated without surgery; 78 per cent of this conservatively treated group were discharged because of this condition. Of the group that received surgery, 3I per cent were discharged during the first year after surgery. In a previous article published by one

OBJECTIVE: Our goal was to identify and analyze airway stent complications and to devise approaches to manage stent complications. STUDY DESIGN AND SETTING: We conducted a retrospective review of patients from a tertiary medical center. METHODS: Twenty-eight airway stents were placed in 23 patients for benign (n = 15) and malignant (n = 13) tracheobronchial diseases. All patients were followed clinically for signs of complications. RESULTS: Nine complications (8 in those with benign disease and 1 in a patient with malignant disease) were identified and included stent migration (n = 3), excessive granulation tissue (n = 2), stent fracture (n = 1), poor patient tolerance (n = 2), and inability to place (n = 1). Avoidance and management strategies for stent complications are introduced. CONCLUSION: Tracheobronchial stents provide minimally invasive therapy for significant airway obstruction. Stent complications are more frequently encountered in the long-term treatment of benign conditions. Stents can be successfully removed endoscopically if complications arise, but the longer a metallic stent is in place, the more difficult it is to remove. SIGNIFICANCE: As airway stent use increases, proper management will be required to avoid and manage complications. This is the first report to focus on stent complications and their management.

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