Indigenous cost-effective peritoneo-venous shunt for refractory ascites.
About 5% of patients with chronic liver disease develop massive refractory ascites. These patients cease to respond to diuretic therapy and may develop prerenal azotemia. There is a small but definite role for the peritoneo-venous shunt in these patients. In our study of 36 patients, managed with locally made, single-valved peritoneo-venous shunts (GSAIMS shunts), shunt failure and complication rates were assessed postoperatively. There is a definite improvement in quality of life with this cost-effective locally made shunt if patients are selected carefully. Long-term follow-up of these patients is not possible because most of these patients succumb to advanced liver disease.
Department of Gastroenterology, RIGID Hospitals, Kilpauk, Chennai, India.
K
K
Marimuthu
A Suresh
AS
Kumar
S
S
Sabanathan
A
A
Gowrishankar
P Sasi
PS
Kumar
J S
JS
Rajkumar
D001201:Ascites / Q000601:surgery*; D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis; D006801:Humans; D010536:Peritoneovenous Shunt / Q000191:economics / Q000379:methods*