title: Prophylactic portosystemic shunt: a special indication.
abstract: Generally, when a splenectomy is performed to treat either a severe hypersplenism or another splenic affection in a cirrhotic patient with uncomplicated esophageal varices, the question arises whether to associate or not a prophylactic shunt. In fact, splenectomy alone does not lower the portal pressure and does not affect positively the esophageal varices. Because of this, 36% of these patients will eventually undergo a bleeding episode from varices. Furthermore, in the patients surviving the first bleeding, the occurrence of splenoportal thrombosis following splenectomy does prevent a therapeutic shunt to be performed. For this reason splenectomy with a complementary prophylactic shunt was performed in 24 patients. This operation, which showed 16% mortality rate, significantly prevented bleeding (0%). Furthermore in the treated patients, splenectomy has lowered the portal pressure. Encephalopathy occurred in 30% of cases, however the accuracy in the selection of patients together with a proper diet and medical treatment have avoided severe complications. The 5 year survival rate was 60%. Nevertheless, the indication to a prophylactic shunt must be limited to these particular cases.
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D004932:Esophageal and Gastric Varices / Q000601:surgery*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006975:Hypertension, Portal / Q000209:etiology; D008103:Liver Cirrhosis / Q000150:complications; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011170:Portasystemic Shunt, Surgical; D013156:Splenectomy