Renal artery embolization without subsequent nephrectomy was used to treat renal adenocarcinoma in 25 patients. The tumour had metastasized in 15 cases, and was locally advanced in six cases and localized in four. The aim was palliation of local symptoms in 20 cases. It was achieved in 11 of 14 patients with gross haematuria and in three of six with severe local pain. No prolongation of survival time was evident, and all the patients died of renal adenocarcinoma within 38 months. Regression of metastases was not seen. In one patient, embolization with absolute ethanol was followed by infarction of the left colon and death.

A 41-year-old female patient with a profusely bleeding intrarenal arteriovenous malformation is described. The bleeding site was localized to the left kidney by cystoscopy and excretory urography. The diagnosis was confirmed by angiography and the malformation was treated by intra-arterial embolization without complications.

Totally implantable systems for venous access are now in wide clinical use. They have been shown to have several advantages when compared with earlier systems. However, the advantages of total implantation also contain risks for new complications. In situ breakages may have disastrous results when unnoticed. In situ separations have been reported with systems consisting of a separate reservoir and catheter. A case is reported where in situ breakage occurred in a system with prefixed catheter. The catheter migrated into pulmonary artery and was removed with Odman catheter and foreign body extractor. The precise cause for the separation could not be ascertained. It is emphasized that during insertion the silicone catheter should not be handled with surgical instruments and that the continuity of the system should be checked prior to use.

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In this study 444 consecutive cases of medial fracture of the femoral neck treated in the city of Turku are considered on the basis of the proposals of Garden (1961) and Pauwels (Leitz 1966) for the classification of fracture types. In order to find out what kind of classification is most practical and coherent a retrospective comparison of the progress of healing was made on the basis of the aforementioned classifications of fracture. Garden's classification proved to be far more logical and was much more reliable for the prognosis of recovery. For this reason and also because of the ease with which his criteria can be applied, the present authors recommend the general use of Garden's classification.