Abstract
Seventeen cases of portal venous system were non-invasively visualized by the intra-venous digital subtraction angiography (DSA).
Technicare DR-960 has been utilized in the Department of Radiology, National Medical Center Hospital. The TV camera scanning image is directly converted to a digital image and stored in the 160 MByte disk. Subtraction procedure can be done with any combination of each frame. A 19G cannula with a length of 5 cm is usually inserted into the ante-cubital vein and 5% glucose solution is continuously dripped except during the injection period of the contrast material. Before the injection of the contrast material, the inserted cannula should be checked for smooth flow. Contrast material of 40 ml of 77% Isopaque 370 is usually injected at a speed of 13 ml/sec.
In the cases of metastatic liver tumor, tumor thrombi were demonstrable inside the portal vein.
We conclude that (1) in intravenous DSA, portal venous system can be visualized non-invasively compared with the conventional methods including trans-splenic portography, percutaneous trans-hepatic portography, or portal phase of coeliac arteriography, and that (2) image quality is relied on the motion of intestinal gas, amount of the contrast material injected, an injection speed and the patient's condition.
