Open AccessNot so innocent bystander - gallbladder varices without portal vein thrombosis
Author(s) -
Tamara Milovanović,
Igor Dumić,
Ivana Ilić,
Marko Baralić,
Sanja Dragašević,
Milica Stojkovic Lalosevic,
Vladimir Arsenijević
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
srpski arhiv za celokupno lekarstvo
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.135
H-Index - 17
eISSN - 2406-0895
pISSN - 0370-8179
DOI - 10.2298/sarh200428050m
Subject(s) - medicine , radiology , portal vein thrombosis , varices , thrombus , cirrhosis , liver transplantation , portal hypertension , thrombosis , gallbladder , asymptomatic , transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt , surgery , transplantation , portal vein
. Gallbladder varices (GBV) represent a rare form of ectopic varices that usually occur in patients with portal hypertension and portal vein thrombosis. Case outline. We present a case of a 38-year-old woman with decompensated autoimmune liver cirrhosis who was referred to our institution for evaluation for liver transplantation. She was incidentally discovered to have GBV during a routine B-mode abdominal ultrasonography as part of pre-transplant evaluation. GBV were confirmed by the Color Doppler Sonography, and multi detector computed tomography angiography. Interestingly, portal vein was patent and without thrombus. Conclusion. Despite being asymptomatic in most cases, the presence of GBV is valuable information for a surgeon because they might be a source of potentially catastrophic bleeding, which is particularly poorly tolerated by patients with decompensated liver cirrhosis. Ultrasound has the irreplaceable role not only in discovering GBV, but in prompt diagnosis of rare, but unpredictable and fatal complications as well.