GIANT GASTRIC VARICES AFTER A LEFT GASTRIC VENOUS CAVAL SHUNT OPERATION FOR ESOPHAGEAL-VARICES - A CASE-REPORT

A Japanese woman, who had undergone a left gastric venous caval shunt operation for esophageal varices 17 years earlier, was admitted to our hospital because of bleeding from giant gastric varices. Al angiograp hic examination revealed a stealing of the portal blood flow to the in ferior vena cava through both a dilated right gastroepiploic vein and a right gastric vein via the left gastric venous caval shunt. The gast ric varices disappeared after obliterating both the feeding and draina ge vessels by means of intervention radiology. We thus, consider the o cclusion of both the afferent and efferent vessels to be an effective treatment for gastric varices.