Faculty Bibliography

There are a variety of abnormalities that can lead to obstruction of the common bile duct, several of which also can cause dilatation and duct irregularity. The differential diagnosis includes such entities as cholangiocarcinoma and carcinoma of the pancreas invading the common bile duct. We present an unusual case in which inspissated bile caused irregularity and obstruction of the common bile duct that radiographically simulated a cholangiocarcinoma

Percutaneous transluminal renal angioplasty has been shown to be an effective technique to dilate renal artery lesions, particularly those due to fibromuscular dysplasia. However, four of 70 patients in this study experienced atypical responses to angioplasty. Their lesions initially resisted dilation and had incomplete dilatation immediately after angioplasty. Long-term follow-up (1 week to 2 years) angiograms, however, demonstrated fully dilated arteries. In cases of focal nonatherosclerotic lesions from intimal or adventitial fibroplasia, initial incomplete dilatation may be satisfactory in the long term whereas repeated inflations may result in undesirable complications

A simple method of selective catheterization of the superficial femoral artery (SFA) following antegrade puncture of the common femoral artery is described. The method entails using a Cope-type dilator introducer, which directs the guide wire from its side hole into the SFA while the tip is secured in the deep femoral artery