Laparotomy versus interventional radiological procedures for the implantation of arterial infusion devices

Although there have been numerous reports on implantable infusion devices for chemotherapy of patients with malignancy, we occasionally face problems with this therapy due to trouble with implantation. We performed a retrospective review of 81 implantations in 77 patients, who were treated with intraarterial chemotherapy via implanted devices from 1985 to 1993. They were divided into two groups according to the procedures: the operative procedure group (group A, n = 41) and the interventional radiological procedure group (group B, n = 36). Both groups were then analyzed regarding the respective complications. We experienced 25 complications: (a) 9 obstructions of the catheter, (b) 4 infections, (c) 4 dislocations of the catheter, (d) 3 hematomas, (e) 3 breakdowns of the device, (f) 1 pneumothorax, and (g) 1 hepatic artery occlusion. The results of a comparison of the complication rate between groups A and B were (a) 14.0%:8%, (b) 4%:0%, (c) 0%:10%, (d) 4%:2%, (e) 7%:0%, (f) 0%:2%, and (g) 2%:0%, respectively. A statistically significant difference was observed for (b) and (c) (P < 0.05). Infection occurred mainly in the cirrhotic cases of group A, but not in group B. In addition, one case fell into fatal sepsis. Based on the above findings, the interventional radiological procedure is thus considered to be the appropriate method for the prevention of infection in the case of a compromised host.