Abstract
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) commonly affects patients with cirrhosis. Patients
with early-stage disease may be treated with surgery, liver transplantation, and locoregional
therapy (e.g., thermal ablation and chemoembolization). The treatment efficacy of
thermal ablation can be limited by factors such as proximity to adjacent vessels,
which may create a heat sink effect. The heat sink effect can be mitigated by intravascular
balloon occlusion. Our case report demonstrates the utility of balloon occlusion during
thermal ablation of HCC adjacent to the right hepatic vein complicated by hepatic
vein thrombosis.
Keywords
hepatic vein balloon occlusion - hepatic vein thrombosis - ablation
