Background: Non-islet cell tumor induced hypoglycemia (NICTH) is a very rare phenomenon, but even more so in gastrointestinal stromal tumors. It tends to present in large or metastatic tumors, and can appear at any time in the progression of the disease. We present herein a case of NICTH in a GIST tumor and report an exon 9 mutation associated to it. Case presentation: A thirty nine year-old man with a recurrent, metastatic gastrointestinal stromal tumor presented to the hospital with nausea, dizziness, loss of consciousness, and profound hypoglycemia (20 mg/dL). There was no evidence of factitious hypoglycemia. He was stabilized with a continuous glucose infusion and following selective vascular embolization, the patient underwent debulking of a multicentric 40 cm × 25 cm × 10 cm gastrointestinal stromal tumor. After resection, the patient became euglycemic and returned to his normal activities. Tumor analysis confirmed excessive production of insulin-like growth factor II m-RNA and the precursor protein, "big" insulin-like growth factor II. Mutational analysis also identified a rare, 6 bp tandem repeat insert (gcctat) at position 1530 in exon 9 of KIT. Conclusion: Optimal management of gastrointestinal stromal tumor-induced hypoglycemia requires a multidisciplinary approach, and surgical debulking is the treatment of choice to obtain immediate symptom relief. Imatinib or combinations of glucocorticoids and growth hormone are alternative palliative strategies for symptomatic hypoglycemia. In addition, mutations in exon 9 of the tyrosine kinase receptor KIT occur in 11-20% of GIST and are often associated with poor patient outcomes. The association of this KIT mutation with non-islet cell tumor induced hypoglycemia has yet to be established.
Vascular injury as a result of total hip arthroplasty (THA) represents an uncommon complication. Although these injuries typically present acutely, delayed presentation has been reported. In this case, a 70-year-old female presented with groin pain and medial thigh numbness 15 years after a left THA. After initially being misdiagnosed, repeat imaging revealed a large external iliac pseudoaneurysm as a result of a transacetabular screw penetrating the medial acetabular wall. The patient underwent staged endovascular exclusion of the pseudoaneurysm, percutaneous drainage, and revision THA. She had resolution of her symptoms. To our knowledge, this is the only reported case of a late vascular injury related to an aseptic THA with well-fixed components. Staged treatment with endovascular exclusion and revision THA is a viable approach.