[Periprocedural management of hemostasis risk in interventional radiology]

[Image-guided bone consolidation in oncology: Cementoplasty and percutaneous screw fixation]

Bone metastases are a common finding in oncology. They often induce pain but also fractures which impair quality of life, especially when involving weight-bearing bones. Percutaneous image-guided consolidation techniques play a major role for the management of bone metastases. Cementoplasty aims to stabilize bone and control pain by injecting acrylic cement into a weakened bone. This minimally invasive technique has proven its efficacy for bones submitted to compression forces: vertebra, acetabular roof, and condyles. However, long bone diaphysis should be treated with caution due to lower resistance of the cement subject to torsional forces. The recent improvements of navigation systems allow percutaneous image-guided screw fixation without requiring open surgery. This fast-track procedure avoids postponing introduction of systemic therapies. If needed, cementoplasty can be combined with screw insertion to ensure better anchoring in major osteolysis. Interventional radiology bone consolidation techniques increase the therapeutic field in oncology. A multidisciplinary approach remains mandatory to select the best indications.

MRI vacuum-assisted breast biopsies

The indications, technique, results and limitations of MRI vacuum-assisted breast biopsies are discussed from a review of the literature. This was initially a home-grown technique and its development was slowed down by several factors. As a result of major technical advances, it has become a reliable and very consistent procedure with a low rate of underestimation. It is now an undisputed technique when suspicious MRI enhancement is seen with no corresponding mammography or ultrasound features.

2013 European thyroid association guidelines for cervical ultrasound scan and ultrasound-guided techniques in the postoperative management of patients with thyroid cancer

Cervical ultrasound scanning (US) is considered a key examination, by all major thyroid and endocrine specialist societies for the postoperative follow-up of thyroid cancer patients to assess the risk of recurrence. Neck US imaging is readily available, non-invasive, relatively easy to perform, cost-effective, and can guide diagnostic and therapeutic procedures with low complication rates. Its main shortcoming is its operator-dependency. Because of the pivotal role of US in the care of thyroid cancer patients, the European Thyroid Association convened a panel of international experts to review technical aspects, indications, results, and limitations of cervical US in the initial staging and follow-up of thyroid cancer patients. The main aim is to establish guidelines for both a cervical US scanning protocol and US-guided diagnostic and therapeutic procedures in patients with thyroid cancer. This report presents (1) standardization of the US scanning procedure, techniques of US-guided fine-needle aspiration, and reporting of findings; (2) definition of criteria for classification of malignancy risk based on cervical US imaging characteristics of neck masses and lymph nodes; (3) indications for US-guided fine-needle aspiration and for biological in situ assessments; (4) proposal of an algorithm for the follow-up of thyroid cancer patients based on risk stratification following histopathological and cervical US findings, and (5) discussion of the potential use of US-guided localization and ablation techniques for locoregional thyroid metastases.