Role of surgery in portal hypertension

ABSTRACT

To evaluate and compare the benefits of surgical shunts/procedures in cirrhotic and non-cirrhotic portal hypertension. Department of Cardiovascular Surgery and Clinical Medicine, K.E. and FJ. Medical Colleges/Mayo Hospital, Lahore, Pakistan. A retrospective study of patients with portal hypertension who underwent various surgical procedures. The results were statistically analysed and significance of distribution of age and sex was tested by using chi square test with one degree of freedom. One hundred and eighty one [181] patients with portal hypertension referred from various teaching hospitals of Lahore and other major cities of Punjab for surgical intervention between 1977-1994. Effectiveness of various surgical shunts in different subgroups of portal hypertension [CPH and NCPH] in recurrent variceal bleeding and ascites. There was a male preponderance among patients undergoing shunt operations. The mean age of noncirrhotics was significantly less as comapred to cirrhotics. Thirty days postoperative mortality was 11.6%. Role of various shunt operations in patients with portal hypertension is mainly palliative. It is of some help in patients with cirrhotic portal hypertension but it is certainly much more beneficial in NCPH for prevention of recurrent oesophageal bleeding with improved survival