ESOPHAGEAL VARICEAL BANDING - REPORT OF THE FIRST 8 CASES IN KENYA

Twenty variceal banding sessions were performed in eight patients betw een February 1995 and September 1936, A total of 69 rings were used to band the varices and at each session between two to six rings were us ed, Two of the eight had active bleeding and both underwent variceal b anding to successfully arrest their bleeding as inpatients. Sixteen ot her variceal banding sessions were performed on an outpatient basis to obliterate their varices, Four of the eight patients had had scleroth erapy before and varices were still present, No acute or long term com plications were noted,In one patient, variceal banding could not he pe rformed as he developed strider upon placement of the overtube, All th e patients had advanced varices (Grade III or IV) and extended for mor e than 15 ems in the oesophagus, Endoscopic variceal obliteration rema ins the treatment of choice for patients with portal hypertension with variceal bleeding, Variceal banding is associated with a superior out come when compared with sclerotheapy; the variceal kill time is shorte r, infective complications less, rebleeding occurs less commonly and t ransfusion requirements are lower.