Affiliations: Department of Radiology, Seoul St. Mary's Hospital, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Republic of Korea | School of Textiles, Yeungnam University, Gyeongsan, Republic of Korea | Department of Urology, Seoul St. Mary's Hospital, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Republic of Korea | Department of Pathology, Bucheon St. Mary's Hospital, The Catholic University of Korea, Bucheon, Republic of Korea
Note: [] Address for correspondence: Hae Giu Lee, Department of Radiology, Seoul St. Mary's Hospital, The Catholic University of Korea, 222 Banpo-daero, Seocho-gu, Seoul 137-701, Republic of Korea. Tel.: +82 2 2258 1422; Fax: +82 2 599 6771; E-mail: hgleehfh@catholic.ac.kr
Abstract: Syndiotactic polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) had been developed to overcome the drawbacks of atactic PVA spheres that deform easily, which can lead to non-target embolization. This study was performed to evaluate the in vivo stability of spherical shape of the syndiotactic PVA spheres. Selective arteriography and transarterial embolization (TAE) were performed in the main renal arteries of eight New Zealand white rabbits using syndiotactic PVA sphere that consisted of syndiotactic PVA skin and a copolymer core of vinyl acetate/vinyl pivalate. The size of the syndiotactic PVA spheres used for the TAE was 212–355 μm. The rabbits were sacrificed 12–14 days after TAE. Gross and microscopic examinations of each kidney were performed. The microscopic examination showed infarction of all embolized kidneys. Syndiotactic PVA spheres were seen uniformly within the arterial lumen and appeared as round ring-like structures without any deformity. The syndiotactic PVA spheres exclusively occupied the arterial lumen. As a conclusion, syndiotactic PVA spheres maintained their spherical shape without significant deformation in this in vivo short-term experimental study. Further investigation is necessary for evaluation of detailed effects of physical stability in tumor embolization.
