ABERRANT GASTRIC VENOUS DRAINAGE IN A FOCAL SPARED AREA OF SEGMENT-IVIN FATTY LIVER - DEMONSTRATION WITH COLOR DOPPLER SONOGRAPHY

PURPOSE: To clarify the correlation between aberrant gastric venous dr ainage and a focal spared area at the posterior edge of segment IV in fatty liver by using color Doppler ultrasound (US). MATERIALS AND METH ODS: Seventeen patients with fatty liver were examined with gray-scale , color Doppler, and power Doppler US. In one patient with a focal spa red area, arteriography and computed tomography (CT) were performed du ring injection of contrast medium into the right gastric artery. RESUL TS: Focal spared areas of fatty liver at segment IV were shown in five of 17 patients. In all five patients with a focal spared area, aberra nt gastric venous drainage was observed with color Doppler US. Power D oppler US depicted aberrant gastric venous drainage more clearly than color Doppler US. On the other hand, no definite aberrant gastric veno us drainage was seen in the 12 patients who had no focal spared area. In one patient who underwent selective arteriography of the right gast ric artery and CT arteriography, aberrant gastric venous drainage into segment IV was directly demonstrated. CONCLUSION: Focal spared areas at segment IV in fatty liver correlate strongly with aberrant gastric venous drainage. Noninvasive imaging methods such as color and power D oppler US are useful for depicting these aberrant drainage veins.