title: Transjugular liver biopsy: prospective evaluation of the angle formed between the hepatic veins and the vena cava main axis and modification of a semi-automated biopsy device in cases of an unfavorable angle.
abstract: In cases of transjugular liver biopsies, the venous angle formed between the chosen hepatic vein and the vena cava main axis in a frontal plane can be large, leading to technical difficulties. In a prospective study including 139 consecutive patients who underwent transjugular liver biopsy using the Quick-Core biopsy set, the mean venous angle was equal to 49.6 degrees. For 21.1% of the patients, two attempts at hepatic venous catheterization failed because the venous angle was too large, with a mean of 69.7 degrees. In all of these patients, manual reshaping of the distal curvature of the stiffening metallic cannula, by forming a new mean angle equal to 48 degrees , allowed successful completion of the procedure in less than 10 min.
authors: Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, Hôpital Archet, 151 route de Saint Antoine de Ginestière, 06202 Nice, France. chevallier.p@chu-nice.fr
authors: P
authors: P
authors: Chevallier
authors: F
authors: F
authors: Dausse
authors: F
authors: F
authors: Berthier
authors: M C
authors: MC
authors: Saint-Paul
authors: A
authors: A
authors: Denys
authors: P
authors: P
authors: Schnyder
authors: J N
authors: JN
authors: Bruneton