The Side-to-Side Portacaval Shunt Revisited

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Abstract
In most patients with cirrhosis of the liver, esophagogastric varices, a potentially life-threatening complication of portal hypertension, eventually develop. Twenty-five to 35 percent of these patients bleed from varices, usually within the first year after this complication is diagnosed. The rate of recurrent variceal bleeding approaches 70 percent, with most episodes occurring within one year after the initial episode. For each episode of variceal hemorrhage, the mortality is approximately 50 percent.Over the past two decades, many new therapies have been introduced to control acute variceal hemorrhage and to prevent recurrent hemorrhage. These have included endoscopic techniques such as sclerotherapy . . .