Development and evaluation of a needle for percutaneous ethanol injection therapy.

To avoid the disadvantages associated with use of the traditional percutaneous transhepatic cholangiography (PTC) needle in ultrasonically guided percutaneous ethanol injection therapy (PEIT) for hepatocellular carcinoma, the authors developed a needle with a three-sided tip and three holes within 3 mm of the tip. In comparison with a PTC needle, the PEIT needle passed into the liver along a straighter line with less resistance and reflected a higher echo from the tip.