Transjugular Biopsy of the Liver with an Automated Device

Abstract

Purpose: To evaluate the results of transjugular liver biopsies conducted with an automated device.

Material and Methods: Transjugular liver biopsies were conducted on 37 patients. the principal indication was coagulation disorders. the biopsies were performed with a 1.3-mm automated device. Each patient underwent three biopsies: anterior, lateral and posterior. A fourth biopsy was conducted if the first three did not produce at least one core sample that was sufficient for the histologic diagnosis.

Results: Transjugular liver biopsy was successful in all 37 patients. We performed a mean of 3.06 punctures per patient (average 2.86 samples). the length of the samples varied from 5 to 23 mm (mean 13.6 mm). Biopsy specimens were useful for histologic diagnosis in 97% of the cases. No serious complications were caused by the procedure.

Conclusion: the transjugular liver biopsy technique is an efficient way of obtaining tissue samples. the procedure shows a high success ratio and a low complication rate.