ARTIFICIAL PARAVERTEBRAL WIDENING FOR PERCUTANEOUS CT-GUIDED ADRENAL BIOPSY

A percutaneous adrenal biopsy under CT guidance is described. The biop sy was performed after injection of physiologic saline solution into t he paravertebral space, creating a wider pathway for needle insertion. This technique has been previously reported for biopsy of thoracic le sions, but in our case it was used for biopsy of a relatively inaccess ible adrenal lesion. This artificial window that is formed by displaci ng the pleura laterally allows a direct and potentially safer access r oute to the retroperitoneum, avoiding puncture of pleura, diaphragm, a nd abdominal structures.