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Your doctor will instruct you on how to prepare, including any changes to your medication schedule. Tell your doctor if you are pregnant and discuss any recent illnesses, medical conditions, allergies and medications you're taking, including herbal supplements and aspirin. Your doctor may advise you to stop taking aspirin, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) or blood thinners several days prior to your procedure. They may also tell you not to eat or drink anything after midnight before your procedure. Plan to stay at the hospital overnight. Leave jewelry at home and wear loose, comfortable clothing. You may need to change into a gown for the procedure.

What is TACE?



What are some common uses of the procedure?


Cancers that may be treated by TACE include:

  • hepatoma or hepatocellular carcinoma (primary liver cancer)
  • Metastasis (spread) to the liver from:
    • colon cancer
    • breast cancer
    • carcinoid tumors and other neuroendocrine tumors
    • islet cell tumors of the pancreas
    • ocular melanoma
    • sarcomas
    • other vascular primary tumors in the body

Depending on the number and type of tumors, your doctor may use TACE or combine it with other treatment options such as surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, or ablation.

How should I prepare?


Prior to your procedure, your doctor may test your blood to check your kidney function and to determine if your blood clots normally.

Tell your doctor about all the medications you take, including herbal supplements. List any allergies, especially to local anesthetic, general anesthesia, or contrast materials. Your doctor may tell you to stop taking aspirin, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) or blood thinners before your procedure.

Women should always tell their doctor and technologist if they are pregnant. Doctors will not perform many tests during pregnancy to avoid exposing the fetus to radiation. If an x-ray is necessary, the doctor will take precautions to minimize radiation exposure to the baby. See the Safety in X-ray, Interventional Radiology and Nuclear Medicine Procedures page for more information about pregnancy and x-rays.

You will receive specific instructions on how to prepare, including any changes you need to make to your regular medication schedule.

If you are to receive a sedative during the procedure, the doctor may tell you not to eat or drink anything for four to eight hours before your exam. If you are sedated, have someone accompany you and drive you home afterward.



The nurse will give you a gown to wear during the procedure.

What does the equipment look like?


This exam typically uses a radiographic table, one or two x-ray tubes, and a video monitor. Fluoroscopy converts x-rays into video images. Doctors use it to watch and guide procedures. The x-ray machine and a detector suspended over the exam table produce the video.

A catheter is a long, thin plastic tube that is considerably smaller than a "pencil lead." It is about 1/8 inch in diameter.


This procedure may use other equipment, including an intravenous line (IV), ultrasound machine and devices that monitor your heart beat and blood pressure.

How does the procedure work?




How is the procedure performed?




Your doctor may provide medications to help prevent nausea and pain and antibiotics to help prevent infection.

You will lie on the procedure table.

The doctor or nurse may connect you to monitors that track your heart rate, blood pressure, oxygen level, and pulse.


The doctor will make a very small skin incision at the site.

Using x-ray guidance, the doctor inserts a thin catheter through the skin into an arteryeither in the groin or in the wrist, and advances it to the liver. Then contrast material is injected through the catheter and another series of x-rays will be taken.



When the procedure is complete, the doctor will remove the catheter and apply pressure to stop any bleeding. Sometimes, your doctor may use a closure device to seal the small hole in the artery. This will allow you to move around more quickly. No stitches are visible on the skin. The nurse will cover this tiny opening in the skin with a dressing.

You can expect to stay in the recovery room between two to six hours, which depends on which artery was accessed and if a closure device was used.

TACE is usually completed within 90 minutes.

What will I experience during and after the procedure?

The doctor or nurse will attach devices to your body to monitor your heart rate and blood pressure.

You will feel a slight pinch when the nurse inserts the needle into your vein for the IV line and when they inject the local anesthetic. Most of the sensation is at the skin incision site. The doctor will numb this area using local anesthetic. You may feel pressure when the doctor inserts the catheter into the vein or artery. However, you will not feel serious discomfort.

If the procedure uses sedation, you will feel relaxed, sleepy, and comfortable. You may or may not remain awake, depending on how deeply you are sedated.

You may feel slight pressure when the doctor inserts the catheter, but no serious discomfort.






You may receive a breathing apparatus called an incentive spirometer. Your nurse will instruct you how to use it. This will help you inflate your lungs so that you will not develop pneumonia.


During the first month following the procedure, you should check in routinely to let your physician know how your recovery is progressing. You will return for a CT scan or MRI and blood tests to determine the size and status of the treated tumor.



Who interprets the results and how do I get them?

After the procedure is complete, the interventional radiologist will tell you whether the procedure was a success.


What are the benefits vs. risks?




  • Any procedure that penetrates the skin carries a risk of infection. The chance of infection requiring antibiotic treatment appears to be less than one in 1,000.
  • Because angiography (which uses IV contrast)  is part of the procedure, there is a risk of an allergic reaction to the contrast material. The radiologic technologist will determine your allergies prior to the procedure.
  • Pediatric patients are at increased risk of blood clots forming at the entry site of the catheter because of the small size of the vessels.

What are the limitations of TACE?



This page was reviewed on June, 15, 2020


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