Concomitant Aortography and Inferior Vena Cavography in Patients With Abdominal Masses

Proper treatment of abdominal masses requires a precise knowledge of their nature and extent. We propose a simple angiographic method which enables us to determine more accurately the origin, size, and extent of such lesions.

Method  Femoral artery and vein catheterization is performed via the Seldinger technique. Generally the punctures are made on the same side for convenience. The venous catheter (a PE 240 catheter with a J-tip and multipe side holes) is positioned in the distal vena cava usually at the level of the third or fourth lumbar vertebrae. The aortic catheter, also a J-tipped PE 240, is placed in the upper abdominal aorta. The patient is then positioned for anteroposterior and lateral filming, utilizing two 1650 MA generators with a biplane Schonander AOT cut film changer. The arterial catheter is connected to a pressure injector for introduction of 35 to 50 ml of the contrast medium, meglumine iothalamate