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The effects of long-term occlusion of branches of the celiac and renal arteries were studied in 13 pigs, using isobutyl 2-cyanoacrylate (ibc), the Gianturco-Anderson-Wallace wool coil, and lvalon. IBC permanently occluded 2- to 8-cm lengths of both vessels, including their branches so that collateral circulation was not able to preserve the tissue supplied by the occluded artery. Gastric ulcers, splenic and hepatic infarcts, and large, sterile biliary cysts were observed on postmortem examination. Permanent occlusion was also observed with the wool coil and lvalon, but the pathological results were much less deleterious. The authors conclude that IBC is presently unsafe for use in branches of the celiac artery.

Transcatheter embolization with bucrylate, a tissue adhesive, was performed in 16 patients with massive upper-gastrointestinal bleeding. Control of arterial bleeding from the stomach was achieved in 6 of 8 patients, and from the duodenum in 3 of 4. Embolization of gastric veins resulted in temporary control of esophageal variceal bleeding in 3 of 4 patients. Histological study showed no evidence of bucrylate causing histotoxicity in 2 patients. Because bucrylate polymerizes rapidly, a localized vascular occlusion mimicking a surgical ligation is produced. Because collateral vessels are not occluded. localized tissue ischemia is unlikely. Tissue adhesives are, however, difficult to use.

Bucrylate (isobutyl 2-cyanoacrylate) was used for the transcatheter embolization of the splenic artery in 4 patients with bleeding gastric varices secondary to splenic vein thrombosis, 3 patients with symptoms of hypersplenism, and 8 patients with bleeding esophageal varices secondary to portal hypertension. The splenic artery was completely occluded in 13 patients and partially occluded in 2. In all but one of the patients, functioning splenic tissue was preserved and no abscess developed. Medical splenectomy with Bucrylate appears to be a safe and effective method for treating bleeding gastric varices secondary to splenic vein thrombosis, and it can alleviate symptoms of hypersplenism. Its role in controlling bleeding from esophageal varices in patients with generalized portal hypertension is worth further study.

Congenital arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) involving the pelvis or an extremity were occluded in 16 symptomatic patients, who subsequently underwent tailored embolotherapy. An additional 11 patients did not undergo embolization due to unfavorable vascular anatomy or lack of significant symptoms. Permanent occlusive agents including isobutyl cyanoacrylate, particles of polyvinyl alcohol foam, and coils were used to embolize the multiple feeding vessels and, when possible, the nidus of the AVM. All patients experienced dramatic reduction in pain and resolution of ulceration and bleeding, with a mean follow-up period of 41 months. Symptoms recurred in four patients but again resolved with repeat embolization. The authors conclude that selective and repetitive embolization is highly effective in palliation of symptomatic congenital AVMs.

Four patients with intrahepatic arterial aneurysms were treated with transcatheter embolization. Two patients had multiple aneurysms, and two had single aneurysms; in two the aneurysms were post-traumatic, and in the other two they were mycotic. Either Gelfoam or isobutyl-2-cyanocrylate was used to occlude the hepatic artery branches. It is concluded that transcatheter embolization is a safe and effective method for the management of these aneurysms and can be used as an alternative to surgery.

Isobutyl 2-cyanoacrylate (IBC) delivered selectively in small doses produced immediate occlusion of the injected arteries in dogs without significant undesired sequelae. In one patient, pelvic hemorrhage was promptly stopped by a similar technique. In another patient, who was on chronic renal dialysis and judged too ill for nephrectomy, IBC occluded both renal arteries and terminated a life-threatening renal protein loss.