Hepatic Arterioportal Shunts

Differential considerations for a hepatic arterioportal shunt include:

• Tumor: Classically in hepatocellular carcinoma. Seen in ~60% of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma.
• Transhepatic needling:
• Chemoembolization:
• surgery:
• Cirrhosis:
• Congenital vascular malformations: May be seen with Osler-Weber-Rendu disease.
• Idiopathic: Typically subcapsular or peripheral. Focal increased-attenuation wedge-shaped defects with early portal venous filling on dynamic CT.

References

• Lane MJ, Jeffrey RB Jr, Katz DS. Spontaneous intrahepatic vascular shunts. AJR Am J Roentgenol. 2000 Jan;174(1):125-31.
• Yu JS, Kim KW, Jeong MG, Lee JT, Yoo HS. Nontumorous hepatic arterial-portal venous shunts: MR imaging findings. Radiology. 2000 Dec;217(3):750-6.