COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHIC PERCUTANEOUS TRANSSPLENIC PORTOGRAPHY

The diagnosis of liver tumors should be utilized for determination of not only the number of lesions, but also their size, segmental locatio n and extent, and the relationship of the mass or masses to the hepati c vasculature. CT during arterial portography (CTAP) is the most sensi tive imaging modality for precise diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinom a (1-3, 5). CTAP is thus widely used as a diagnostic imaging technique , particularly for the detection of small hepatocellular carcinomas (4 , 6, 8). Conventional splenic portography has been carried out for man y years using a wide diameter needle, a large amount of contrast mediu m and a film-screen system (7). Since the development of arterial port ography, fewer splenoportograms have been performed due to the high in cidence of bleeding and other complications (7). In this study a 0.6-m m (23 gauge) thin needle was used for splenic puncture and CT was used as a detector instead of a film-screen system. With this technique CT during percutaneous transsplenic portography may be performed on an o utpatient basis.