ultrasonography-guided hepaticogastrostomy: a novel re-intervention method Endoscopic ultrasonography-guided hepaticogastrostomy (EUS-HGS) is increasingly used to manage failed endoscopic biliary drainage inpatientswithmalignant biliary obstruction [1–3]. A recent study showed that, for EUS-HGS, a stent ≥3cm in length in the luminal portion may be suitable to prevent stent migration and achieve...

grated biliary endoprostheses include stent cannulation and subsequent bal− loon retrieval, balloon placement parallel to the stent with traction retrieval, and the use of a wire basket, snare, Soehendra stent retriever, or rat−tooth forceps [1 ± 3]. The technique chosen depends on the ex− tent of proximal stent migration, the presence of ductal dilatation or biliary stricture, and the endoscop...

  The development of transcatheter techniques for treatment of severe mitral valve regurgitation in the beating heart is focus of recent research. An off-pump treatment technique poses great benefits, particularly for multimorbid patients, often being non-compliant to the gold standard treatment, being open heart surgery with use of a cardiopulmonary bypass. Thereto, two approaches are being fo...

Continuous monitoring of blood pressure from a minimally invasive device in the pulmonary artery can serve as a diagnostic and early warning system for cardiac health. The foremost challenge in such a device is the wireless transfer of data and power from within the blood vessel to an external device while maintaining unrestricted flow through the artery. We present a miniaturized system, which...

N(3,4-dimethoxycinnamoyl) anthranilic acid (tranilast) prevents the synchronous upregulation of isoforms and receptors of the transforming growth factor (TGF)-beta system after arterial injury and reduces restenosis after human coronary angioplasty. However, the effects of tranilast and the importance of the TGF-beta system in stent restenosis, in which inward remodeling is unimportant but infl...

A coronary stent may be lost in the peripheral or visceral arterial system with an incidence ranging from 0.9 to 8.4%, however, a limb or organ ischemia after stent migration is very uncommon. We report the case of an 83-year-old man who underwent coronary artery stenting at our Hospital's Cardiological Department. During this difficult procedure, due to the critical stenosis of the circumflex ...

OBJECTIVE To investigate the technical feasibility, clinical usefulness, and safety of a guiding sheath in fluoroscopic stent placement for patients with malignant colorectal obstructions. MATERIALS AND METHODS Between June 2007 and January 2011, fluoroscopic placement of a dual colorectal stent was attempted in a total of 97 patients with malignant colorectal obstructions. A polytetrafluoroe...

Purpose. To evaluate efficacy and safety of a trabecular micro-bypass stent system when used as the sole procedure in Japanese patients with medically uncontrolled primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG). Design. Prospective nonrandomized interventional pilot study. Methods. Ten eyes of 10 Japanese patients with medically uncontrolled POAG taking three ocular hypotensive medications were treated usi...

Cilotax stent is a new type of drug-eluting stent (DES) designed to increase the antirestenotic performance of the paclitaxel-eluting stent and decrease the risk of stent thrombosis by the incorporation of cilostazol. Therefore, we investigated the safety and efficacy of Cilotax dual DESs and compared their performance to that of paclitaxel-eluting Taxus Liberte. Patients undergoing percutaneou...