Intra-arterial digital subtraction angiography: comparison with conventional hepatic arteriography.

To evaluate the efficacy of arterial digital subtraction angiography (DSA), 28 patients with a variety of hepatic lesions underwent intra-arterial DSA immediately following conventional celiac or hepatic arteriography. Thirty-one studies were obtained and the results of DSA were compared with the conventional arteriograms. DSA showed good visualization of the arteries in the early arterial phase of the examination. The late arterial phase was better evaluated on conventional arteriograms due to the decreased spatial resolution of DSA. Arterial DSA was most useful in the evaluation of the parenchyma of the liver; the use of remasking techniques allowed improved visualization of hepatic lesions, particularly in the left lobe of the liver. It is concluded that arterial DSA is useful in hepatic imaging and may supplant conventional hepatic arteriography as the technology improves.