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Transjugular biopsy of the liver with an automated device
A Gonzalez-Tutor1, R García-Valtuille, L Cerezal
1Department of Radiology, Hospital Universitario Marqués de Valdecilla, Santander, Spain.
Purpose:
To evaluate the results of transjugular liver biopsies conducted with an automated device.
Material And Methods:
Transjugular liver biopsies were conducted on 37 patients. The principal indication was coagulation disorders. The biopsies were performed with a 1.3-mm automated device. Each patient underwent three biopsies: anterior, lateral and posterior. A fourth biopsy was conducted if the first three did not produce at least one core sample that was sufficient for the histologic diagnosis.
Results:
Transjugular liver biopsy was successful in all 37 patients. We performed a mean of 3.06 punctures per patient (average 2.86 samples). The length of the samples varied from 5 to 23 mm (mean 13.6 mm). Biopsy specimens were useful for histologic diagnosis in 97% of the cases. No serious complications were caused by the procedure.
Conclusion:
The transjugular liver biopsy technique is an efficient way of obtaining tissue samples. The procedure shows a high success ratio and a low complication rate.