Background Simultaneous use of balloon catheters with embolic materials can cause unwanted rupture of the balloon occlusion catheters, which might cause a serious problem. Therefore, knowledge of the compatibility of occlusion balloon catheters with liquid embolic materials is important in various interventional procedures.

Objective To determine the compatibility of occlusion balloon catheters with commonly used embolic materials in vitro.

Methods We used three types of occlusion balloon catheters (Scepter C, Microvention, Tustin, California, USA; Hyperform, Covidien, Irvine, California, USA; and Ascent, Codman Neurovascular, Raynham, Massachusetts, USA) to test their tolerances to Lipiodol, n-butyl cyanoacrylate (NBCA; Histoacryl; B Braun, Melsungen, Germany), and dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) with Onyx. The balloon was inflated just as it is in an endovascular procedure, then put on a Petri dish to observe its morphological change after one drop of liquid embolic material was added using a 1 mL syringe. The presence of rupture and the time to rupture were evaluated by constant video monitoring. Additionally, we observed morphological changes of the balloon catheter surface after contact with embolic materials with a scanning electron microscope.

Results Lipiodol or a 33% NBCA–Lipiodol mixture dropping onto the three types of balloon catheter resulted in ruptures of all three. All three types of balloon catheter were tolerant to NBCA and to DMSO followed by Onyx.

Conclusions Glue embolization should not be performed with all three kinds of balloon catheter on the market, but DMSO and Onyx are compatible with those balloon catheters.