SPONTANEOUS INTRAHEPATIC PORTOSYSTEMIC VENOUS SHUNT IN A PATIENT WITHCIRRHOSIS - DIAGNOSIS BY COMBINED COLOR DOPPLER AND PULSED DOPPLER ULTRASONOGRAPHY

Large spontaneous intrahepatic portosystemic venous shunts are occasio nally found and their diagnosis by Doppler sonography is rarely report ed. The authors describe a case of spontaneous intrahepatic porto-syst emic venous shunt in liver cirrhosis diagnosed by color Doppler and ch aracterized by an unusual pulsed Doppler spectrum: a continuous flat p ortal-like pattern of flow in the portal branch, and in both the shunt and the hepatic vein.