Intrahepatic vascular lesions following nonsurgical percutaneous transhepatic bile duct intubation

Hepatic angiography was performed following nonsurgical percutaneous transhepatic intubation of the bile ducts in patients with extrahepatic cholestasis. Vascular lesions of the liver (aneurysm, hematoma, arterioportal venous fistula, arteriohepatic venous fistula) were demonstrated in 27 of 83 patients. No clinical complications were observed in 22 of these cases. One patient with an arterioportal venous fistula developed marked hemobilia necessitating blood transfusion. In four patients with severe hemorrhage from an intrahepatic aneurysm, transcatheter embolization was performed. Two of these patients died within 72 h because of liver insufficiency.