Embolic materials polyvinyl alcohol particles

Among the nonabsorbable embolic materials. Polyvinyl Alcohol particle (PVA) is one of the most widely used. This consists of a water-soluble, biocompatible material made by a reaction of polyvinyl alcohol foam with formaldehyde. When it is moisturized, it expands its volume up to 20% more... 

The embolic agents most commonly used for splenic ablation are Gelfoam pledgets and polyvinyl alcohol particles. Yoshioka et al. [105] also showed excellent increases in platelet counts when coils were placed within the intrasplenic branches, and Hickman et al. [108] successfully used Gel-foam, polyvinyl alcohol particles, and coils alone or in combination for preoperative embolization. In animal studies, additional materials that have been used for this purpose are absolute ethanol [121,122], microfibrillar collagen [123], tissue adhesives [124], balloon catheters [125], silicone particles [126], and... 

The first embolic materials used for UFE were non-spherical polyvinyl alcohol (nPVA) particles, which were familiar to most interventional radiologists, readily available, inexpensive, and had a long history of being well tolerated. Variation in the size of the particles and the tendency for them to aggregate is thought to provoke a proximal vessel occlusion or unpredictable level of occlusion [12]. The aggregation of the particles may also cause microcatheter... 

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