Transjugular liver biopsy. An experience based on 500 procedures.

We report our experience based on 500 transjugular liver biopsies, a safe procedure even in high risk patients. Transjugular liver biopsies represents one third of all liver biopsies performed in our Hepato-Gastroenterology units. Liver specimen was adequate to evaluate liver architecture in 87.6% of patients in whom a minimal size of 7.6 mm of the liver core was found suitable for this purpose. The size of the liver specimen negatively correlated with the increase in hepatic venous pressure gradient (p < 0.0001). The liver biopsy was unsuccessful in 3.6% of patients. Hepatic capsular perforation occurred in 3.4% of patients but remained invariably asymptomatic.