Abstract
The feasibility and safety of selective hepatic venography using a three-lumen, twoballoon catheter were studied. The catheter was originally developed for selective venography, blood sampling and organ irrigation. The shaft part of catheter is made of silicon rubber and the balloon part is made of latex rubber. 30 mongrel dogs with their body weights ranging from 15 to 20Kg were used in the present experiments. The catheter was introduced through the right femoral vein and advance into the inferior vena cava near the orifice of the hepatic vein so that the proximal and distal balloons were located distally and proximally to the orifice, respectively. Whenever this location of the catheter was accomplished, satisfactory hepatic venograms were obtained by injecting 15 to 20ml of 76% Urografin. A pressure change within the hepatic and portal veins was comparatively monitored by introducing two other catheters, one into the portal vein, the other located between the balloons. The maximal pressure developed during venography did not exceed 25 to 30mmHg for both veins. In addition, the pressure patterns obtained from both veins during venography were almost identical. Thus, it appears that the pressure added between the balloons during the injection escaped, through the hepatic sinusoid, to the portal vein which seems to have enough capacity to buffer the pressure elevation. These experimental findings indicate that the hepatic venography using a three-lumen, two-balloon catheter is a relatively safe and effective diagnostic method.
