Purpose: To address the feasibility of prophylactic temporary occlusion of the cystic artery using a detachable coil during 90Y radioembolization.
Materials and methods: From January 2012 to October 2016, nine patients underwent temporary occlusion of the cystic artery during 90Y radioembolization. Based on the planning hepatic angiography, a detachable coil was deployed into the cystic artery, which arose from a more distal level (e.g., right anterior hepatic artery) than its usual origin, but the proximal 1 cm was left inside the microcatheter. 90Y microspheres were infused proximal to the cystic artery where the 99mTc-MAA had been infused, and then the coil was retrieved. Afterward, the patients underwent PET/CT imaging. Medical records were reviewed, and the differences in the uptake of 99mTc-MAA and 90Y microspheres in the gallbladder were evaluated using Wilcoxon's signed-rank test.
Results: Temporary placement of a detachable coil was feasible in all cases. On the angiograms obtained after detachable coil placement, the distal cystic artery and gallbladder were partially identifiable in eight of the nine (88.8%) patients, but fully restored after the removal of the coils in all cases. The proportional uptake of 99mTc-MAA (mean, 4.35%) and 90Y (mean, 0.90%) in the gallbladder was significantly different due to the temporary occlusion of the cystic artery (p = 0.004). No clinical complications were identified for three months after the procedure.
Conclusion: Temporary occlusion of the cystic artery using a detachable coil appeared to be feasible and effective in reducing 90Y uptake in the gallbladder.
Keywords: Cholecystitis; Cystic artery; Detachable coil; Radioembolization.