Angiography in portal hypertension.

In this article, various angiographic techniques that may be useful in the assessment of portal hemodynamics are described with illustrative angiograms, providing examples of celiac arteriography; arterial venography; transsplenic, umbilical, operative, and transhepatic portography; hepatic venography; and other techniques. When they are combined with other imaging modalities, the information gained increases. Interventional and therapeutic angiography, such as angiographic occlusion of a large shunt causing encephalopathy or of an arterioportal shunt, widening of a narrowed shunt, and perforation of membranous obstruction of the inferior vena cava, is discussed.