Hepatic chemosaturation

Last revised by Owen Kang on 27 Jul 2022

Hepatic chemosaturation is a percutaneous technique used to locally treat unresectable hepatic metastases in patients without systemic disease.

Technique

The key to this technique is isolating the blood supply to the liver. This is achieved by:

  • closure of the gastro-duodenal artery by coiling
  • blocking the IVC with a balloon

Following this, a very high dose of chemotherapy (melphalan) is injected, thereby 'saturating' the liver. 

Complications

  • systemic toxicity: decrease blood cell count
  • liver damage: deranged liver enzymes

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