Purpose: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of a new liquid embolic material in portal vein embolization (PVE).
Materials and methods: A new embolic material (Embol) was percutaneously injected into the left portal vein of 13 swine, using a balloon catheter to prevent reflux. The swine were killed immediately (n = 6), 2 weeks (n = 4), and 4 weeks (n = 3) after the PVE, and the volumes of the right and left lobes were measured. The changes in body temperature, aspartate aminotransferase (AST) (formerly SGOT), alanine aminotrasferase (ALT) (formerly SGPT), and bilirubin levels after the PVE were studied, and the histopathologic changes in the embolized and nonembolized lobes were examined with light microscopy.
Results: The average volume ratio of the right:left lobe immediately after the PVE was 55(+/-2):45(+/-1), and changed to 71(+/-3):29(+/-3) at 2 weeks and 82(+/-3):18(+/-3) at 4 weeks after embolization. There were only mild changes in AST, ALT, and bilirubin levels, and only one pig showed a significant elevation in body temperature after PVE. Microscopically, the embolized lobe showed contraction of hepatocyte without any sign of necrosis and the nonembolized lobe expansion of hepatocyte.
Conclusions: The new embolic material seems effective and safe for PVE.