Gastric and duodenal ischaemia after transarterial chemoembolisation for hepatocellular carcinoma: an unexpected but significant complication.

Transarterial chemoembolisation (TACE) is commonly used for unresectable intermediate-stage hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). TACE is usually well-tolerated. We report a case of a patient who presented with a gastrointestinal bleed from TACE. A 64-year-old man presented with chronic hepatitis C cirrhosis and multifocal bilobar HCC. He had previously undergone multiple TACE sessions, radiofrequency ablation and stereotactic body radiation therapy. In the evening of his TACE procedure, he developed abdominal pain and haematemesis. An oesophagogastroduodenoscopy (OGD) showed non-bleeding oesophageal varices and ulcerations in the stomach and duodenum, with pathology demonstrating mucosal necrosis. The patient recovered and was discharged on omeprazole. While TACE is considered safe with most patients only experiencing postembolisation syndrome, vascular complications have been reported. In our patient, OGD revealed ulcerations, with biopsies confirming ischaemic ulceration. The likely aetiology was seepage of the embolic particles into neighbouring arteries. Patients should be carefully selected for TACE and monitored post procedure.