Budd-Chiari syndrome caused by obstruction of the hepatic inferior vena cava: immediate and 2-year treatment results of transluminal angioplasty and metallic stent placement.

PURPOSE: To assess the usefulness of percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA) and expandable metallic stent (EMS) placement for treatment of Budd-Chiari syndrome (BCS). METHODS: Thirty-two patients with BCS were treated by PTA alone or by PTA and EMS placement. Among the 32 patients, a membranous obstruction was found in 24 and a segmental stenosis or occlusion in 8 patients. The follow-up period for PTA was 38-68 months (mean 52.2 months); for EMS it was 20-36 months (mean 24.3 months). RESULTS: Twenty-one patients underwent PTA as the primary treatment. Of these, one patient died of disseminated intravascular coagulation shortly after the procedure; 20 had good to excellent initial angiographic and clinical results. Of the 20, restenosis or reocclusion developed in 10 patients (48%), all before 27 months; 8 patients (38%) became symptomatic, and 2 remained symptom-free for a total recurrent obstruction rate of 50%. The EMS group of 17 patients included 11 patients who underwent primary stenting and 6 patients with secondary stenting after recurrence following primary PTA; restenosis was demonstrated in only 2 patients (12%). CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that PTA alone produces excellent short-term results and about 50% sustained patency after 2 years in patients with BCS; therefore it should remain the procedure of first choice. Stents should be reserved for primary or secondary PTA failures.

[Transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic stent shunt (TIPSS) with use of Rösch-Uchida transjugular liver access set--evaluation by CT and its clinical application].

Appropriateness of the Rösch-Uchida transjugular liver access set designed for TIPSS procedure was confirmed, especially about the catheter angle and effective length of the 20 G puncture needle, by CT analysis on three dimensional vascular anatomy of the liver. Clinically, TIPSS using the set was successfully made for two patients, connecting superior right hepatic vein with right portal vein in one patient and middle hepatic vein with left portal vein in another patient with hypoplastic right portal vein. Prior to TIPSS procedure, verification of vascular anatomy on CT images is the key to success of TIPSS in safe.