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Objective:To investigate the safety and efficacy of endoscopic ultrasound-guided coil embolization for gastric varices.Methods:Patients with portal hypertension who received endoscopic ultrasound-guided coil embolization for the prophylaxis of gastric variceal bleeding between November 2016 and August 2020 at Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University were included in the study. The primary evaluation index was the post-operative loss of blood flow in gastric varices, and the secondary indices included the safety of coil embolization, rebleeding rate, portal vein thrombosis changes and patient survival.Results:A total of 13 patients with isolated gastric varices and portal systemic shunt were enrolled, including 6 males and 7 females with the median age of 58 years. The median maximum diameter of the target vessel was 40 mm and the median number of coils used was 2.7. All puncture sites were in the lower part of the esophagus near the cardia, and no active bleeding occurred after deployment of coils. Flow in the gastric varices were confirmed absent by Doppler imaging. In a median follow-up period of 403 days, 2 patients had rebleeding, with the one-year rebleeding rate of 9.1%.Two patients developed portal venous thrombosis after the operation. Two patients died, and the one-year survival rate was 90.0%.Conclusion:Endoscopic ultrasound-guided coil embolization might be an effective option for the treatment of isolated gastric varices with portal systemic shunts.
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Objective:To evaluate the efficacy and safety of endoscopic ultrasound (EUS)-guided coil embolization combined with endoscopic cyanoacrylate injection for gastric fundal varices with large spontaneous shunt.Methods:Data of 24 patients with gastric fundal varices with large spontaneous shunt (the smallest diameter was 5-15 mm) treated by EUS-guided coil embolization combined with endoscopic cyanoacrylate injection in Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University from December 2016 to December 2020 were retrospectively analyzed. The short-term efficacy (the rates of technical success, five-day rebleeding and six-week mortality) and long-term efficacy (the rates of one-year rebleeding, one-year mortality and three-year mortality) and safety (ectopic embolism) were evaluated.Results:The technical success rate was 91.7% (22/24), and the five-day rebleeding rate was 0 (0/22). Computed tomography angiography of portal vein reexamined 2 days after the treatment showed embolism of splenic vein in 1 patient (4.5%). The median follow-up time was 14.9 months (ranging 1.0-48.6 months) and 2 patients were lost during follow-up. The six-week mortality was 0 (0/20), and the one-year rebleeding rate was 35.0% (7/20). Among 12 patients who underwent endoscopy in the follow-up, 5 had aggravation of esophageal varices, and 5 had aggravation of portal hypertension gastropathy. The one-year and three-year mortalities were 5.0% (1/20) and 20.0% (4/20), respectively, neither of which was related to such events as bleeding or ectopic embolism.Conclusion:EUS-guided coil embolization combined with endoscopic cyanoacrylate injection for gastric fundal varices with large spontaneous shunt is effective and safe in short term, with a low rate of ectopic embolism. Long-term efficacy and safety need to be further confirmed.