Interventional revisions of malfunctions affecting surgically implanted port-catheters for hepatic artery infusion

Purpose: Despite high response rates, feasibility of hepatic artery infusion (HAI) is impaired by frequent malfunctions of surgically implanted catheters (SIC). The aim of this study is to analyze the incidence and the types of malfunctions affecting the SIC and the success rate of interventional revisions (IR) in restoring patency to these catheters. Methods: In a single center, 101 consecutive patients treated with HAI through SIC over 10 years were retrospectively reviewed. The studied group (+IR) was composed of patients referred to interventional radiology for repair of catheter malfunctions. The overall patency of catheters in the +IR group was compared with the overall patency of a control group composed of patients without catheter malfunction (no IR). Results: 86 patients were included with no difference in baseline characteristics between +IR (n = 40) and no IR (n = 46). There were no significant differences in overall patency between both groups (8.4 courses vs. 8.4 courses, p = 0.99). Furthermore, with an overall success rate of 72.5%, IR significantly improved the mean primary patency from 2.4 to 8.4 courses (p < 0.0001) in the +IR group. Conclusion: By restoring a normal patency to SIC affected by different types of malfunctions, IR improves feasibility of HAI.