Stents combined with iodine-125 implantation to treat main portal vein tumor thrombus

Figure 1 Study design and flow chart.

Figure 2 Boxplots of liver function. A: Alanine aminotransferase; B: Aspartate aminotransferase; C: Glutamyl transpeptidase; D: K⁺; E: Model for end-stage liver disease score; F: Na⁺; G: Direct bilirubin; H: Albumin (H) in Group A (red bars) and Group B (blue bars) were compared with Student’s t test. MELD: Model for end-stage liver disease score.

Figure 3 Pictures taken during operation of a 55-year-old male patient with hepatitis B cirrhosis and primary liver cancer with main portal vein tumor thrombus. The patient was treated with percutaneous liver puncture and ¹²⁵I implantation combined with portal vein stent implantation. A: Percutaneous transhepatic portal venography showing proximal and left branch of portal vein tumor thrombus (long white arrow); B: X-ray showing vein stent (short white arrow), catheter between the stent and tumor thrombus (long white arrow); C: X-ray showing ¹²⁵I between the stent and tumor thrombus (long white arrow); D: Postoperative portal vein angiography showing patency of stent blood flow (long white arrow); E: 18 mo after the operation, enhanced computed tomography showed that blood flow in the splenic vein, superior mesenteric vein, portal vein and stent was good.

Figure 4 Heat map of comparison of portosystemic pressure gradient measurements before and after operation between Groups A and B. Student’s t test was used to compare portosystemic pressure gradient at each time point, and no difference was found between the two groups.

Figure 5 Kaplan–Meier curves of postoperative stent restenosis (A) and survival (B).