[Lymphovenous anastomosis in severe ascites]. / L'anastomosi linfovenosa nell'ascite difficile.

The authors dealt with 37 patients suffering from advanced liver cirrhosis with ascites. Eighteen patients out of them underwent Denver peritoneum-jugular shunt as a first choice procedure, the other 19 patients underwent lymphovenous anastomosis. The extremely advanced hepatic damage and the general conditions of these patients discouraged us to perform a portocaval shunt. In the 19 patients who underwent lymphovenous anastomosis we had no mortality rate. Two patients showed post-operative complications: 1 patient complained which hoarseness regressed in 5 months and the other patient suffered from a spleno-mesenteric-portal thrombosis with digestive hemorrhage from gastro-esophageal varices. In 6 patients out of 19 who underwent lymphovenous anastomosis, we did not obtain any immediate positive effects on ascites. In 4 patients, after 3 months, the ascites came back ingravescent and in the other 9 patients the positive effects on ascites were still evident after 1 year. Despite failure to obtain very comforting results, they suggest to employ this technique at any rate, as the first procedure, to make ascites more "manageable", because of its safety.

[The Denver peritoneojugular shunt. Current indications]. / Shunt peritoneo-giugulare sec. Denver. Attuale indicazione.

Personal experience of 31 patients suffering from intractable ascites due to advanced liver cirrhosis between 1978 and 1987 is reported. Seventeen patients were selected for a peritoneojugular shunt: in 3 patients the Le Veen shunt was performed and in 14 the Denver shunt was preferred. The high postoperative morbidity and mortality due to liver failure, DIC, hepatorenal syndrome, bleeding, sepsis and cerebral thrombosis is pointed out. Careful selection of patients to be submitted to this surgical procedure is essential because of the high morbidity due to ascites reinfusion. DIC has to be diagnosed as soon as possible and, when severe, the prompt interruption of the peritoneojugular shunt is mandatory.