Microvascular plug: a new embolic material for hepatic arterial skeletonization

Arterial skeletonization before radioembolization or hepatic artery port catheter placement for chemotherapy is a crucial step to prevent side effects. Coils are commonly used as an embolic material for hepatoenteric arterial occlusion. Herein is reported for the first time the clinical use of a new detachable microvascular plug (MVP) suitable for occlusion of 1–3 mm diameter vessels. The MVP allows vessel embolization even in challenging anatomy such as the right gastric artery. Furthermore, immediate and stable vessel occlusion was observed in our pilot study of 16 MVP placements.