Percutaneous transhepatic drainage of inaccessible abdominal abscesses following abdominal surgery under real-time CT-fluoroscopic guidance.

This study evaluated the safety, feasibility, and clinical utility of transhepatic drainage of inaccessible abdominal abscesses retrospectively under real-time computed tomographic (CT) guidance. For abdominal abscesses, 12 consecutive patients received percutaneous transhepatic drainage. Abscesses were considered inaccessible using the usual access route because they were surrounded by the liver and other organs. The maximum diameters of abscesses were 4.6-9.5 cm (mean, 6.7 +/- 1.4 cm). An 8-Fr catheter was advanced into the abscess cavity through the liver parenchyma using real-time CT fluoroscopic guidance. Safety, feasibility, procedure time, and clinical utility were evaluated. Drainage catheters were placed with no complications in abscess cavities through the liver parenchyma in all patients. The mean procedure time was 18.8 +/- 9.2 min (range, 12-41 min). All abscesses were drained. They shrank immediately after catheter placement. In conclusions, this transhepatic approach under real-time CT fluoroscopic guidance is a safe, feasible, and useful technique for use of drainage of inaccessible abdominal abscesses.