The Budd-Chiari syndrome: angiography and its complications.

Four patients with the Budd-Chiari syndrome are presented. Hepatic venography and inferior vena cavography confirmed the diagnosis in these patients. Angiography was used to evaluate the liver and the superior mesenteric and portal venous drainage. Contrast medium complications, ranging from nausea to renal shut-down and death, were encountered in three of these patients, an unusually high number of angiographic complications. The role of angiography in the Budd-Chiari syndrome is assessed.