Microcatheter with a ball tip for hepatic embolization and intra-arterial chemotherapy

A microcatheter used mainly for cranial arterial embolization and chemotherapy was employed for hepatic arterial embolization. The tip of the microcatheter is inflated like a small balloon which then acts as a calibrated-leak balloon. A coaxial system employing a conventional catheter for abdominal angiography combined with a propulsion chamber was used. Successful chemotherapy and embolization by Lipiodol and Spongel was carried out even in cases in whom it has been considered impossible to insert a catheter into the desired arteries.