Return to Diagnosis List

A radiographic technique used to visualize blood vessels.

Angiography of the celiac and mesenteric vessels is performed before proceeding with curative surgery for pancreatic cancer.The Whipple Procedure may be performed only when the cancer is confined to the pancreas and locoregional tissues that are routinely removed during the procedure.

If the angiography reveals that the cancer has spread to the blood and possibly other organs via the blood vessels, a Whipple procedure will not be performed. (There are possible exceptions with evident portal vein involvement. Some surgeons are performing portal vein grafts with Whipple procedures.)

A radiologist places a needle into one of the major arteries (usually the femoral artery in the groin). A sheath is placed over the needle, the needle is removed and a catheter is placed into the artery. Under X-ray visualization, the catheter is placed into the arteries located near the pancreas and the contrast dye is injected.

If the pancreas cancer has spread into the local arteries or veins around the pancreas, a curative operation is not possible. This procedure is gradually being replaced by CT angiography or MR angiography which allow imaging of the blood vessels surrounding the pancreas without the need to place an catheter directly into an artery.

Good for diagnosing pancreatic cancer
Accuracy for detecting metastases is not perfect

It is not unusual for a surgeon to proceed with surgery only to find that there are metastases present that were not detected by angiography and/or other diagnostic tests.

There is a slight risk of an allergic reaction to the dye.