Curved Needles in CT-Guided Fine Needle Biopsies of Abdominal and Retroperitoneal Small Lesions

To demonstrate the advantages of using curved needles in fine needle aspiration (FNA) with CT-guided, for analyzing abdominal and/or retroperitoneal small lesions which are impossible to reach with conventional non-surgical biopsy techniques, particularly in cases in which the cytology sample was not possible to obtain by means of US or CT guide with axial images.

An authorization for CT-guided FNA in patients with neoplasms is not required by the institutional review board of our Institute. From April 2012 to November 2014, the study included retrospectively 25 patients (16 M, 9 F) who underwent CT-guided FNA of abdominal and/or retroperitoneal small lesions (<30 mm), in which the ultrasound and axial CT scans were not reliable guides for the biopsy procedure because of the interposition of anatomical obstacles. Patients with suspected lymphomas or sarcomas, pediatric patients and patients with bleeding diathesis were excluded. Cytology reports were used for evaluating suitability.

The biological material was considered to be suitable for cytological study, with a diagnostic value in all 25 cases, finding in particular: out of 23 neoplastic lesions (85%), 21 were malignant (90.2%) and 2 were benign (8%). 2 out 25 were non-neoplastic benign lesions (8%). No procedural complications arose in any of the cases (0%).

Using curved needles, there is an effective improvement in CT-guided FNA of abdominal and retroperitoneal small lesions which are difficult to achieve with conventional CT or ultrasound guide.