Stick It: Glue Embo

Dr. Ziv Haskal talks us through the use of glue in peripheral applications. He discusses how to prepare and inject glue for portal vein embolization, how to do the same for type 2 endoleaks, and also shares his glue bullet technique.

Glue is only approved for neurointerventional procedures in the US, though there are many off-label uses where glue is the superior embolic. The benefit of glue is the power it gives to the operator. By manipulating the oil to glue ratio and thus the viscosity, the operator has control of how far the glue will travel when injected which makes it a very versatile liquid embolic. Dr. Haskal commonly uses glue for portal vein, bronchial, lumbar and intercostal embolizations as well as in coagulopathic patients.

Dr. Haskal advises that one of the easiest places to start using glue is portal vein embolization. To prepare glue for a procedure, Dr. Haskal separates it from the rest of the back table, and always uses new gloves and a separate set of equipment. For a portal vein embolization, Dr. Haskal runs a microcatheter paraxially alongside the safety wire and makes U-turns into portal vein branches that he is targeting. For treating renal pseudoaneurysm or for finishing a coil embolization, Dr. Haskal uses the glue bullet method, which involves loading a syringe with dextrose and only a tiny amount of glue at the top of the syringe.

Regarding complications of glue, Dr. Haskal says that though many fear the glue solidifying and causing the catheter to get stuck in a vessel, the likelihood of this is near zero because the glue does not harden fast enough for this to happen. The most common complication is over embolization and downstream spillage, which can be problematic in end organ supply vessels. Finally, Dr. Haskel explains his technique for when the glue starts solidifying around the catheter which creates a glue tail catheter is drawn back.