Open AccessNoncirrhotic Portal Vein Thrombosis
Author(s) -
Warren Wd,
William J. Millikan,
Robert B. Smith,
Eric B. Rypins,
J. Michael Henderson,
Atef A. Salam,
Theodore Hersh,
John T. Galambos,
Bahjat A. Faraj
Publication year - 1980
Publication title -
annals of surgery
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 4.153
H-Index - 309
eISSN - 1528-1140
pISSN - 0003-4932
DOI - 10.1097/00000658-198009000-00009
Subject(s) - medicine , portal vein thrombosis , hepatic encephalopathy , shunt (medical) , portal venous pressure , portal hypertension , thrombosis , radiology , portosystemic shunt , encephalopathy , perfusion , splenic vein , collateral circulation , right gastric vein , surgery , cirrhosis
Controversy exists concerning the proper therapy for bleeding gastroesophageal varices secondary to noncirrhotic portal vein thrombosis. Disparity of opinion exists regarding the significance of hepatic portal blood flow and the consequences of total portal-systemic shunts in this condition. One patient is presented who developed severe, crippling encephalopathy 20 years after a central splenorenal shunt. This was associated with loss of portal flow to the liver and marked nitrogen intolerance. Closure of the shunt resulted in restoration of hepatic portal flow via collateral veins (HPI 0.36), clearance of encephalopathy and return to near normal protein tolerance. An additional patient was studied with hyperammonemia and early suggestive signs of encephalopathy eight years following a mesocaval shunt. Four patients were evaluated before and after selective distal splenorenal shunts. All had "cavernous transformation" of the portal vein with angiographic evidence of portal flow to the liver. Postoperative angiograms revealed continued hepatic portal perfusion and a patent shunt in each patient. Radionuclide imaging postoperatively gave an estimated portal fraction of total hepatic blood flow (HPI) of .39 and .60 in two of the four patients. We conclude that 1) there is significant hepatic portal perfusion in noncirrhotic portal vein thrombosis (cavernous transformation), 2) loss of this hepatic portal flow following total shunts can lead to severe encephalopathy, 3) the selective distal splenorenal shunt maintains hepatic portal perfusion and is the procedure of choice when there is a patent splenic vein and surgical intervention is indicated.