Transcatheter endovascular embolization within a reasonable time before rupture or deterioration of a patient's general condition is an important procedure for managing visceral pseudoaneurysms. N-butyl 2-cyanoacrylate (NBCA, enbucrilate) is an embolic material used in the blockade of visceral pseudoaneurysms. This study evaluated the clinical efficacy of transcatheter embolization of visceral artery pseudoaneurysms using NBCA.

Between June 2004 and February 2014, 13 patients (9 males and 4 females; age range, 26–80years; mean, 57.9years) with 14 pseudoaneurysms were treated by transcatheter embolization using NBCA. NBCA was mixed with iodized oil at a 1:3 ratio to control its polymerization time and to render it radiopaque. Pseudoaneurysms were located on the gastroduodenal artery (n=1), pancreaticoduodenal artery (n=2), dorsal pancreatic artery (n=1), proximal jejunal artery (n=1), colic artery (n=1), splenic artery (n=3), renal artery (n=4; two in one patient), and hepatic artery (n=1).

All patients recovered immediately following the embolization procedure, and two patients showed minor complications that required only medical observation.

Transcatheter embolization using NBCA for the treatment of visceral pseudoaneurysms is a safe, effective, and low-cost treatment method with a high success rate.