Selective transcatheter embolization of the upper gastrointestinal tract: an experimental study.

Transcatheter gastric embolization using Ivalon shavings was performed on three groups of dogs. The left gastric artery and splenic branches (the short gastric and left gastroepiploic arteries) were embolized in Group I, the left gastric artery in Group II, and the splenic branches in Group III. Infarctions of the gastric mucosa occurred only in Group I. Ischemic ulcers developed in three of the five dogs in Group I and in one of the three dogs in Group II. The study suggest that embolization can only be performed safety if particles of 0.3 mm or larger are used.