Objective To determine the effectiveness and safety of an expanded perioperative venous thromboembolism (VTE) prophylaxis strategy in women undergoing complex gynecologic surgery. Methods We performed a cohort study of 527 patients undergoing major surgery at a single institution over a thirty-month interval during which the gynecologic oncology service implemented an expanded approach to VTE prophylaxis. We compared rates of VTE pre- and post-intervention as well as bleeding and infectious complications. Results Prior to the intervention, there were 23 VTE events in 345 patients (rate of 6.67%): 8 deep vein thrombosis (DVTs) and 15 pulmonary emboli (PEs). Post intervention, there were 5 VTE events in 182 patients (2.7%): 3 DVTs and 2 PEs (RR=0.4 p=0.056). Time-to-event analysis showed a significantly higher incidence of VTE events in the pre-intervention time frame compared to the post-intervention period (p = 0.049). There were no significant differences in bleeding or infection complications between groups. Conclusions Implementation of a perioperative VTE prophylaxis protocol was safe, feasible and resulted in a clinically significant reduction in symptomatic VTE. Preoperative single-dose unfractionated heparin for all patients, combined with two weeks of thromboprophylaxis in gynecologic cancer patients, may decrease VTE events without increasing bleeding or infection.

Digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) is a pseudo three-dimensional mammography imaging technique that has become widespread since gaining Food and Drug Administration approval in 2011. With this technology, a variable number of tomosynthesis projection images are obtained over an angular range between 15° and 50° for currently available clinical DBT systems. The angular range impacts various aspects of clinical imaging, such as radiation dose, scan time, and image quality, including visualization of calcifications, masses, and architectural distortion. This review presents an overview of the differences between narrow- and wide-angle DBT systems, with an emphasis on their applications in clinical practice. Comparison examples of patients imaged on both narrow- and wide-angle DBT systems illustrate these differences. Understanding the potential variable appearance of imaging findings with narrow- and wide-angle DBT systems is important for radiologists, particularly when comparison images have been obtained on a different DBT system. Furthermore, knowledge about the comparative strengths and limitations of DBT systems is needed for appropriate equipment selection.

Incidence of interval cancers is an important outcome in assessing efficacy of screening. Our primary objective was to compare the incidence of interval cancers detected with two‐dimensional digital mammography (DM) versus digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) in a large community health system. Our secondary objectives were to compare the patient and tumor characteristics of interval cancers, cancer detection rate, and recall rate. Interval cancers before and after implementation of DBT (2012‐2014 DM group; 2016‐2018 DBT group) were reviewed. Patient factors (age, race, breast density, personal history of breast cancer, family history of breast cancer, known BRCA‐1 or BRCA‐2 genetic mutation, baseline mammogram, and presentation) and tumor characteristics (in situ versus invasive, grade, size, hormone receptor status, and nodal status) were compared with the chi‐squared test or the MidP exact test. Rates (detection and recall) were compared using a z‐score. The rates of interval cancers with DM (0.30 per 1000 [35/117 099]) and DBT (0.33 per 1000 [40/119 746]) were similar (P = .3). Proportion of node‐positive interval cancers was lower in the DBT group (22.9% [8/35] vs 48% [15/31], p.01). Otherwise, the patient and tumor characteristics were similar. The cancer detection rate increased (5.9 per 1000 [709/119 746] vs 3.5 per 1000 [411/117 099], P = .0001), and the recall rate decreased with DBT (8.6% [10 347/119 746] versus 10.7% [12 508/117 099], (P < .0001). Although the cancer detection rate was higher with DBT, the rate of interval breast cancers was similar in both groups. Node‐positive invasive interval cancers were decreased with DBT.

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Spindle cell hemangioendothelioma is a rare benign vascular tumor that is not known to involve the sacrum. The authors describe the case of a 31-year-old woman presenting with low-back and radicular pain without weakness or bowel or bladder dysfunction. Admission CT and MRI studies revealed a large S1–3 lytic sacral lesion. The patient initially underwent a nondiagnostic percutaneous biopsy. She subsequently underwent an open biopsy, during which the lesion was found to be highly vascular. Histological investigation revealed a vasoformative lesion consistent with spindle cell hemangioendothelioma. Preoperative embolization followed by resection via intralesional currettage resulted in resolution of symptoms up to 9 months postintervention. Despite the authors' recommendation, the patient became pregnant at that time and requested no additional follow-up imaging. The authors present the first reported case of a spindle cell hemangioendothelioma of the sacrum and review the current literature.