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Background: There are few reports of a fractured esophageal self-expanding metallic stent (SEMS) and the lasso retrieval technique, forming a guidewire loop by directing the guidewire back up the external stent for retrieval., Case Summary: A 74-year-old man complained of dysphagia approximately 6 mo after radical resection of esophageal cancer. Benign anastomotic stenosis was diagnosed, and a 20 mm in diameter and 60 mm in length esophageal covered SEMS was inserted after repeated balloon dilatation. About 13.5 mo after stenting, dysphagia recurred and esophagography showed severe stenosis above the proximal stent and stent removal was performed. One-third of the stent was removed and the fractured stent remained in the proximal esophagus. A suction tube was introduced through the guidewire and then the guidewire was grabbed, acting like a "lasso" on tightening. The remaining fractured stent was successfully removed by slowly pulling back the guidewire, with no fragments of stent wires retained., Conclusion: The guidewire lasso technique is a simple, effective method of removing esophageal SEMS in rare cases of stent fracture., Competing Interests: Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest., (©The Author(s) 2022. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Takayasu arteritis is a rare but intractable chronic disease in young female patients. Percutaneous transluminal angioplasty of the involved renal arteries has been reported; however, few studies have reported the use of drug coated balloon angioplasty in the treatment of Takayasu arteritis. We aimed to demonstrate five young female patients who presented with a history of hypertension due to Takayasu arteritis., Case Summary: From April 2017 to October 2018, five female patients were diagnosed with hypertension due to Takayasu arteritis by computed tomography angiography (CTA) and laboratory tests. Four patients had a complaint of headache with or without dizziness, and one patient showed no symptom. There was no significant family or past history of hypertension or kidney disease, and the physical examinations were almost normal on admission. We performed a treatment by drug coated balloon angioplasty. Blood pressure decreased dramatically in all patients after balloon angioplasty, and the patency of treated renal artery was demonstrated with CTA over 5 months after the angioplasty procedure., Conclusion: Drug coated balloon angioplasty is safe and effective for renal artery stenosis due to Takayasu arteritis. A prospective study with a larger sample size is necessary to further demonstrate the effectiveness of the treatment., Competing Interests: Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest., (©The Author(s) 2019. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.)