Portal Hypertension: Preoperative Aspects in Nuclear Medicine

The determination of total hepatic blood flow with delineation of its arterial and portal venous components is a major consideration in the surgical management of portal hypertension. Since the eventual success of the shunt operation is dependent on adequate liver circulation, such an evaluation should be an essential feature of the preoperative patient work-up. Scintigraphic studies using 99mTc-labeled sulfur colloid allow estimation of hepatic blood flow (EHBF) while quantitative sequential perfusion scintigraphy renders possible the determination of the portal contributation to the liver blood flow.