PURPOSE:To evaluate the long-term predictive value of the biliary manometric perfusion test and clinical trial for determining patency after treatment of bile duct strictures.MATERIALS AND METHODS:One hundred four patients with benign biliary disease were treated with surgical (n = 59) or percutaneous (n = 45) techniques followed by intubation with large-caliber silicone stents. Prior to removal of the biliary stents, patients underwent a biliary manometric perfusion test (n = 168) and/or a clinical trial (n = 105) to objectively and subjectively evaluate the treated site for potential long-term patency. The patients were followed up for 1-87 months, and clinical outcomes were determined. Kaplan-Meier survival curves were generated for three patient groups, including those who (i) passed either test, (ii) failed either test, and (iii) failed either test, were re-treated, and passed either test.RESULTS:Final successful treatment outcomes were documented in 47 (92%) surgically and 31 (86%) percutaneously treated patients, respectively (P = .001). The Kaplan-Meier survival curves determined the probability of patency at 0, 2, 4, and 6 years after treatment to be 1.0, .96, .78, and .59, respectively, after passing a biliary manometric perfusion test; and 1.0, .91, .78, and .78, respectively, after passing a clinical trial (P > .10). The probability of patency at 4 years after treatment was .45 after failing a biliary manometric perfusion test, and at 6 months was zero after failing a clinical trial (P = .001 and .001, respectively, vs the same test in the passing group). Seventy-nine percent of patients who failed either test required an additional period of repeated stent placement or reoperation. After repeated treatment, the probability of patency at 0-4 years was .80 and .88, respectively, for the biliary manometric perfusion test and clinical trial (P > .05 and P > .10, respectively, vs same test in the group that passed).CONCLUSION:Patients who initially pass either the biliary manometric perfusion test or clinical trial have a significantly increased probability of patency versus those who fail; however, patients who fail either test and who then receive definitive additional treatment have a similar probability of patency as those who initially pass. Although the log rank test demonstrated the Kaplan-Meier survival curves from the biliary manometric perfusion test and clinical trial not to be significantly different in any of the three groups (ie, passing, failing, re-treated), the biliary manometric perfusion test is recommended over the clinical trial because of its simplicity, immediate results, and predicted cost savings.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the biliary manometric-perfusion test (BMPT) and clinical trial as predictors of long-term success after percutaneous and surgical treatment of biliary tract strictures.PATIENTS AND METHODS: After percutaneous intervention or surgical repair of extrahepatic bile duct strictures, 43 patients underwent long-term biliary intubation (mean, 13 months) with 61 internal-external stents. Before removal of the stents, all 43 patients underwent a BMPT (n = 65) and 24 underwent a 2-3-week clinical trial (n = 27) with stents positioned above the treated region. Patients were followed up 1-46 months (mean, 16 months) after stent removal, with clinical outcome determined by means of physical examination, biochemical evaluation, chart review, and telephone interview.RESULTS: With logistic regression analysis, the BMPT and clinical trial were shown to have equal predictive value in determining treatment success or failure. Eighty-four percent of the clinical outcomes were correctly predicted with BMPT, versus 88% for the clinical trial. Kaplan-Meier survival curve analysis demonstrated the probability of remaining stricture free at 1 year after passing a BMPT and after passing a clinical trial to be 90% and 86% (P = .55), respectively.CONCLUSION: BMPT and clinical trial have similar capabilities in the prediction of long-term patency after treatment of benign biliary tract strictures, but the BMPT is less costly and time consuming for the patient.

PURPOSE: The authors summarize their 11-year experience with percutaneous varicocele occlusion at the Johns Hopkins Hospital.PATIENTS AND METHODS: Data were obtained from the patients' medical records and from a mailed questionnaire. Most of the data analysis is based on the 182 patients who responded to the questionnaire.RESULTS: Most of the occlusion's were performed for infertility. The mean length of time couples had been attempting to conceive was approximately 44 months. Occlusion was technically successful in 95.7% of cases. Patients were followed up for a mean period of 59 months. Success is difficult to define because many patients and/or their wives received additional infertility treatment. Fifty-seven percent of all couples and 60% of a subgroup of couples who received no other treatment eventually conceived.CONCLUSION: Percutaneous occlusion is a well-established treatment for varicoceles. Pregnancy rates and recurrence rates are comparable to those following surgical varicocelectomy. It is unlikely that resultant pregnancies occur from random chance alone.

PURPOSE: The authors evaluated the technical success and immediate and long-term results of percutaneous varicocele embolotherapy in the adolescent population.PATIENTS AND METHODS: Fifty-nine adolescent patients were referred for outpatient spermatic venography and possible varicocele embolotherapy. Embolization was attempted with use of detachable balloons, coils, ''sandwiched'' dextrose, or a combination of these techniques. Data regarding follow-up were obtained through telephone inteviews or mailed questionnaires.RESULTS: The technical success rate for spermatic vein occlusion was 90%. Follow-up, obtained in 79% of the patients, ranged from 6 months to 8.75 years (mean, 4 years). Thirty-nine of 42 patients (93%) reported disappearance (n = 31) or only a slight, asymptomatic residual varicocele (n = 8). Three patients reported a recurrence of their varicocele. Complications occurred in three of 59 cases (5%), none had any long-term sequelae. In six cases, embolization was not feasible because of multiple collateral vessels or venous spasm.CONCLUSIONS: Given the convenience of performing the procedure on an outpatient basis, the rapid recovery time, and long-term success and complication rates comparable to those with surgical ligation, we believe spermatic venography and percutaneous embolization is the treatment modality of choice for adolescent varicocele.

PURPOSE: This study assessed the technical feasibility and safety of repeat dilation of Palmaz stents in growing pulmonary arteries.MATERIALS AND METHODS: Palmaz stents (1.2 cm long) were placed percutaneously into the pulmonary arteries of 20 newborn lambs. After 4 months, pulmonary arteriography was performed. Where vessel growth in excess of stent diameter had created a stenosis (> 15%), stents were dilated again percutaneously. Six months later, pulmonary arteriography was performed, before the animal was killed and histologic examination performed.RESULTS: Twenty-four pulmonary artery stent placements were attempted; 23 were successful. One stent placement was unsuccessful owing to stent displacement from the balloon. Acute complications included branch pulmonary artery occlusion (n = 3) and stent displacement from the delivery balloon (n = 2). At 4 months, the desired degree of stenosis (> 15%) was achieved in 11 animals. The average stenosis was 35% (standard deviation, 16%; range, 17%-6%). The mean predilation stent diameter was 6 mm +/- 1.1 (range, 4-8 mm), and the final diameter of 8 mm +/- 1.4 (range, 6-10 mm), represented a 35% mean increase (P < .001). Complications included stent (n = 1) and branch vessel (n = 1) thrombosis. At 6-month follow-up, all stents were patent. Areas of previously noted branch thrombosis were fully recanalized in all cases. At histologic inspection, only a thin layer of neointima was found on the stents.CONCLUSION: Repeat dilation of Palmaz stents may be safely performed in growing pulmonary arteries in an animal model. Neointimal hyperplasia is minimal in pulmonary artery stents.

A classification scheme for choledochal cysts is outlined and their appearance on cholangiograms is illustrated. Choledochal cysts are uncommon anomalies of the biliary system and are probably congenital in origin. They are manifested by cystic dilatation of the extra- or intrahepatic biliary tree or both. The classification system described here divides choledochal cysts into one of five main types. The most common, which is manifested by cystic or focal segmental dilatation of the common bile duct or fusiform choledochal dilatation, accounts for 80-90% of cases.

Twenty-two patients underwent 24 percutaneous biliary procedures guided with choledochoscopy, an adjunctive percutaneous biliary technique. All but four procedures were performed through established percutaneous tracts; the others, through tracts less than 4 weeks old. The procedures were done for the following reasons: removal of calculi (n = 15), electrohydraulic lithotripsy (n = 1), biliary duct biopsies (n = 8), cauterization of a bleeding tract (n = 1), and evaluation of biliary-enteric anastomoses (n = 11). The only complication was one case of severe nausea after choledochoscopy. This patient required overnight hospitalization and medical treatment. All procedures were technically successful, except one case in which the tract was undersized. All patients received intravenously administered antibiotics before and after the procedure. It is concluded that choledochoscopy is a safe, atraumatic, and well-tolerated method of evaluating and treating biliary disease and that it markedly reduces radiation exposure. It can be performed rapidly with minimal sedation on an in- or outpatient basis.

Acute upper-extremity arterial occlusion may be due to embolic phenomena or de novo thrombosis. If the occlusion is left untreated, claudication or ischemia necessitating amputation can occur. Operative Fogarty-balloon embolectomy has been the treatment of choice for this entity. In a 6-year period the authors used fibrinolysis on nine occasions in eight patients to treat acute upper-extremity arterial occlusions. Concomitant balloon angioplasty was helpful in four cases. Success, defined as a normal hand with at least one artery that was continuously patent to the wrist, was achieved in all patients. A single significant groin hematoma was seen. Neither stroke nor death occurred in any case, and no amputations were necessary. Local transcatheter intraarterial administration of urokinase can be considered a first-line treatment for brachial artery embolus and other causes of acute upper-extremity arterial occlusion.

Although infra-inguinal autogenous vein graft stenoses may be treated by balloon dilatation (PTA) or surgical revision, the optimal approach is undefined. Over the last 7 years 24 PTA procedures were performed on 37 vein graft stenoses in 19 grafts. Graft stenoses were diagnosed from 2 to 72 (mean = 17.3) months after implantation. PTA was successfully completed in 23 (96%) of the 24 procedures including 18 (95%) of the primary, and 5 (100%) of the secondary procedures. Recurrent vein graft stenosis or graft thrombosis developed in 12 (67%) grafts from 3 to 47 (mean = 12.5) months after primary PTA. Long-term patency after primary PTA was 69% at 6, 29% at 12, and 22% at 36 months; secondary patency was 81% at 6, 45% at 12, and 27% at 36 months. During the same period vein graft stenosis in 7 fem-pop and 2 fem-tib grafts were surgically revised with an initial success rate of 100%, and 2 (22%) complications. Four (44%) of these grafts occluded from 1-17 (mean 6.2) months after repair, yielding a primary 5-year patency of 62%. Although vein graft stenosis may be safely, effectively, and repeatedly treated with PTA, long-term durability appears to be superior after surgical revision.

A technique that permits repeated access to the porcine gallbladder through a surgically placed 18 French latex catheter is described and experience with this system in 22 swine is discussed. This porcine gallbladder model produces a reliable and reproducible means for studying clinically applicable interventional procedures.

Over a 2-year period, blunt renal injuries were classified on a four-point scale: grade 1, contusions; grade 2, tears limited to the cortex (renal lacerations); grade 3, tears extending to the collecting system (renal fractures); and grade 4, renal vascular pedicle injuries. We report our findings in nine children with grade 2 and grade 3 blunt renal injuries who were evaluated with CT. One patient had a nephrectomy; the other eight were managed nonsurgically. Six patients had follow-up CT scans 5-19 months later to assess healing. Scars were evident in each case, and the extent of deformity paralleled the magnitude of the initial injury. One patient with a grade 2 injury and two patients with grade 3 injuries healed with small focal scars; three patients with grade 3 injuries healed with large polar scars. In five patients, the CT findings were compared with the findings on 99mTc-DTPA renal imaging. The injured kidneys contributed 30-45% (mean, 38%) of total renal function. In six patients with renal trauma who were treated conservatively, the involved kidneys healed and significant kidney function was preserved, although early surgical intervention might have been beneficial for one of these patients. Prospective studies are needed to evaluate further the effectiveness of this conservative approach.

Left-sided biliary drainage was performed in 89 of 678 (13%) patients undergoing percutaneous biliary drainage procedures during a 9-year period. The most common indication was Klatskin tumor, followed by sclerosing cholangitis, carcinoma of the gallbladder, postoperative benign stricture, and metastasis to the porta hepatis. Left-duct drainage was successful in 82 of the 89 patients (92%) in whom it was attempted. One patient sustained a major hemorrhage from a hepatic artery aneurysm, which was managed with transcatheter embolization.

The authors describe how operations of an inpatient admitting service for interventional radiology were improved by developing a clinic and hiring a physician's assistant. The service, begun in 1982, was managed by a senior radiologist and fellows. Because of increasing admissions (from a mean of 52 per year in 1982-1985 to 110 per year in 1985-1987), a 1/2-day, twice-weekly clinic was created in 1985 to evaluate new patients and perform follow-up examinations. In 1986 a physician's assistant was hired to assist in the clinic and during patient admissions. Use of the clinic and physician's assistant streamlined patient flow and management during hospitalization. This resulted in a decrease in mean length of stay for patients undergoing angioplasty (from 3.74 days in 1982-1983 to 2.41 days in 1986-1987). This decrease means cost savings for the hospital under the prospective payment system. Other benefits include improved physician-patient relationships and follow-up, new patients for colleagues (15% of patients had anatomy unsuitable for interventional procedures and were referred to staff surgeons), and increased professional fees.

Congenital arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) involving the pelvis or an extremity were occluded in 16 symptomatic patients, who subsequently underwent tailored embolotherapy. An additional 11 patients did not undergo embolization due to unfavorable vascular anatomy or lack of significant symptoms. Permanent occlusive agents including isobutyl cyanoacrylate, particles of polyvinyl alcohol foam, and coils were used to embolize the multiple feeding vessels and, when possible, the nidus of the AVM. All patients experienced dramatic reduction in pain and resolution of ulceration and bleeding, with a mean follow-up period of 41 months. Symptoms recurred in four patients but again resolved with repeat embolization. The authors conclude that selective and repetitive embolization is highly effective in palliation of symptomatic congenital AVMs.

Over a 10-year period, 276 pulmonary arteriovenous malformations (PAVMs) were occluded with balloon embolotherapy in 76 patients, 67 (88%) of whom had hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia. Eleven patients (14%) were discovered by means of family screening with measurement of arterial blood gases and chest radiography. Epistaxis, dyspnea, hemoptysis, and hemothorax occurred in 79%, 71%, 13%, and 9% of patients, respectively. Clinical histories of strokes and transient ischemic attacks were present in 18% and 37% of patients, respectively. Computed tomographic scans of 59 patients showed stroke in 36%. Sixty-five percent of PAVMs were located in the lower lobes, which correlated with the finding of more pronounced hypoxemia in the upright position. After embolotherapy, symptomatic hypoxemia was corrected, and serial values have remained constant for 5 years. Complications were minimal, and no patient required surgery. Balloon embolotherapy is effective long-term therapy for PAVMs, and family screening should be pursued because of the possibility of a higher frequency of paradoxical embolization (stroke) than previously recognized.

Analysis of 193 femoropopliteal angioplasties demonstrated patency rates in the stenotic group of 75.5% at 6 months and 54.4% at 54 months. The patency rates for the occlusive group were 93.7% at 6 months and 72.9% at 54 months; these rates were significantly better than those in patients with stenoses. A group of 14 patients with long-segment (greater than 7 cm) stenosis had the highest risk of early failure, with a 6-month patency of 23.1%. After removal of the long-segment stenosis group from the results, there were no significant differences between the long-term patencies for stenotic and occlusive lesions. If angioplasty of long stenoses is attempted, a high initial success rate but early failure should be anticipated.