S. Iannello et al., A large spontaneous splenorenal shunt in a patient with liver cirrhosis and uncomplicated portal hypertension, DIGEST DIS, 17(4), 1999, pp. 248-255
The aim of this paper is to describe and discuss, on the basis of a thoroug
h review of the literature, the case of a 70-year-old woman with probable c
irrhosis secondary to chronic hepatitis B and C, uncomplicated portal hyper
tension (without ascites, encephalopathy or bleeding varices), splenomegaly
and hypersplenism, and an unusual, spontaneous, large splenorenal shunt an
d recanalization of the umbilical vein. The tortuous and varicose splenoren
al shunt was diagnosed by abdominal ultrasound and CT investigations. A dup
lex Doppler ultrasonography evaluation was performed to study shunt flow di
rection and velocity. No gastroesophageal varices were identified on endosc
opic examination. The clinical relevance of spontaneous splenorenal shunt,
often associated with fundic gastric varices, is discussed. Copyright (C) 2
000 S. Karger AG. Basel.