The inaccessible or undrainable abscess: how to drain it.
Percutaneous abscess drainage is a safe, effective, and widely used technique for the treatment of patients with abdominal or pelvic sepsis. The majority of abdominal and pelvic abscesses afford reasonably straightforward access and are amenable to percutaneous drainage. However, requests are occasionally received for drainage of abscesses or fluid collections that initially appear unsuitable for percutaneous drainage. Factors that render collections seemingly unsuitable for imaging-guided drainage include inaccessibility due to surrounding organs, difficult location, and thickened contents (eg, clotted blood, thick pus). Well-established alternative approaches (eg, transgluteal, transvaginal, transrectal) can be used to facilitate drainage of deep-seated collections that are inaccessible via more traditional routes. Other factors that may improve the accessibility of collections include modifications in patient positioning or in the use of imaging hardware (eg, angling of the computed tomography scanner gantry). Use of these techniques and modifications can allow percutaneous drainage of less accessible intraabdominal abscesses, thus eliminating the need for laparotomy.
Maher
Michael M
MM
Division of Abdominal Imaging and Intervention, Massachusetts General Hospital, White 270, 55 Fruit St, Boston, MA 02114, USA.
Gervais
Debra A
DA
Kalra
Mannudeep K
MK
Lucey
Brian
B
Sahani
Dushyant V
DV
Arellano
Ronald
R
Hahn
Peter F
PF
Mueller
Peter R
PR
D000038:Abscess / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002404:Catheterization; D000075202:Contraindications; D004322:Drainage / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D005471:Fluoroscopy; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015641:Radiography, Interventional; D013396:Suction / Q000379:methods; D025321:Surgery, Computer-Assisted; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed; D018084:Ultrasonography, Interventional; D014781:Viscera / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging