Preoperative localization of insulinoma by intra-arterial spiral CT

Objective To evaluate the value of intra-arterial dynamic spiral CT on preoperative localization of insulinoma. Methods Two patients with insulinoma proved by operative pathology were preoperatively localized by intra-arterial dynamic spiral CT. Results In intra-arterial spiral CT, two small insulinomas (1.5–2.0 cm in diameter) demonstrated as a significantly high dense nodule 20 s later after initiation of injection of contrast medium. The course of high density lasted nearly 4 min. Conclusion Intra-arterial dynamic spiral CT could clearly detect small insulinoma, and might be one of most effective preoperative localization methods for small insulinoma.