title: Observations on fifty distal splenorenal shunts.
abstract: Fifty patients underwent conventional distal splenorenal shunts for bleeding esophageal varices. Five patient died within 30 days, giving an operative mortality of 10%. Three patients were lost of follow-up, but 47 patients were evaluated. Twelve patients died, 11 of liver failure, with more than half of the deaths occurring with 1 year, three fourths within 2 years, and all within 3 years after operation. Eleven patients rebled, and seven of these were among those who died. Sixteen patients had ascites prior to operation, but all responded to aggressive medical therapy. Twenty-two patients were available for study 2 or more years following operation. Eighteen (82%) are well with no encephalopathy, although the remaining four (18%) have had transient episodes of encephalopathy. Sixteen of the 18 patients judge their lifestyles to be productive. If the patient survived 24 months or longer, he had a four in five chance of living a normal life.
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D004932:Esophageal and Gastric Varices / Q000601:surgery*; D005069:Evaluation Studies as Topic; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006471:Gastrointestinal Hemorrhage / Q000601:surgery; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000401:mortality; D012082:Renal Veins / Q000601:surgery*; D013162:Splenic Vein / Q000601:surgery*; D013997:Time Factors