Catheter placement in the right gastroepiploic artery without fixation using a W spiral catheter for implantable reservoir therapy of malignant liver tumors

Intra-arterial infusion chemotherapy using a percutaneously implanted port-catheter system was performed in 21 patients with liver tumors. We developed a new procedure, the gastroepiploic method, using a W Spiral Catheter without embolization around/within the catheter and embolization for the right gastroepiploic artery distal to the catheter tip. After embolizing the gastroduodenal arterial branches, right gastric artery, or aberrant hepatic arteries, we mainly inserted the catheter tip into the right gastroepiploic artery. There were no complications such as peptic ulcer, hepatic artery obstruction, or catheter dislocation (observation time, 5.3 months). This method seemed to be feasible for implantable reservoir therapy of patients with malignant liver tumors.