Hepatic embolization with an open-ended guide wire.

Experience in four patients indicates the recently developed open-ended guide wire with the steerable mandril is invaluable in the catheterization of tortuous vessels and can be used without a catheter in the embolization of hepatic arteries. A much more dilute suspension of polyvinyl alcohol foam powder was found to be necessary with this wire so that the wire did not become occluded. A suspension of 0.6 mg polyvinyl alcohol foam powder per milliliter of normal saline was found to be optimum.