Selective celiac angiography and surgical exploration for suspected liver cancer. A comparative study of 196 patients

In 196 patients subjected to celiac angiography and exploratory laparotomy for suspected liver tumor, 81% of the tumors were diagnosed by angiography, 26% of patients had false-negative angiograms, and 16% had false-positive angiograms. Diangosis on laparotomy proved correct except in one patient. Of 22 patients with liver tumors not diagnosed on angiography, 10 could be specifically treated and 3 of them have survived more than one year. This gain is discussed in relation to the rather high number of unnecessary laparotomies.