Aberrant gastric venous drainage into the medial segment: demonstration by color Doppler sonography.
BACKGROUND
Aberrant gastric venous drainage (AGVD) into the posterior edge of the medial segment of the liver (segment IV) is the main cause of pseudolesion on computed tomography (CT) during arterial portography. We estimated the prevalence of AGVD into the medial segment of the liver with color and power Doppler ultrasound (US).


METHODS
Screening gray-scale and color Doppler and power Doppler US were performed in 100 consecutive patients. AGVD was defined as a venous structure that ascended parallel to the main portal vein and drained independently into segment IV.


RESULTS
AGVDs were observed in eight of 100 patients (8%) with color and power Doppler US. Power Doppler US depicted these veins more clearly than did color Doppler US. Gray-scale US did not show any AGVDs. Two of eight patients with AGVDs detected by color Doppler US underwent celiac arteriography and CT during arterial portography (CTAP). In these two patients, celiac arteriography directly demonstrated AGVDs draining into segment IV, which revealed nontumorous perfusion defects (pseudolesions) on CTAP.


CONCLUSIONS
Color and power Doppler US are useful imaging methods for demonstrating AGVDs.
Gabata
T
T
Department of Radiology, Kanazawa University, School of Medicine, Takara-machi 13-1, Kanazawa 920, Japan.
Matsui
O
O
Kadoya
M
M
Ueda
K
K
Kawamori
Y
Y
Yoshikawa
J
J
Nobata
K
K
Fujinaga
Y
Y
Matsuoka
T
T
Takashima
T
T
D000013:Congenital Abnormalities / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008099:Liver / Q000098:blood supply*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011172:Portography; D013270:Stomach / Q000098:blood supply*; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed; D018615:Ultrasonography, Doppler, Color; D014680:Veins / Q000002:abnormalities / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging