Clinical Experience of Transportal Ultrasonography using Micro-probe for Pancreato-biliary Tract Malignancies

Abstract

We performed the transportal ultrasonography (TPUS) using a micro-probe (2.4mm in outer diameter, radial scanning system, 15MHz), which was inserted intra-operatively into the jejunal vein and led to the portal vein.TPUS revealed an intraportal tumor in a patient with choledocal carcinoma which formed a huge tumor behind the hepatoduodenal ligament. TPUS images demonstrated the intraportal tumor continuing with a low echoic mass, showing portal invasion of the choledocal carcinoma, that could not be diagnosed preoperatively by angiography.The other patient with pancreatic carcinoma had portal invasion of the carcinoma. TPUS images demonstrated the high echoic wall thickness of the affected portal vein. We conclude that TPUS can provide new information on the invasion of pancreato-biliary tract malignancies.