Immediate and Long-Term Results of Portacaval Shunt Surgeries in Portal Hypertension: 10-Year Clinical Experience of a Regional Vascular Surgery Department

INTRODUCTION: The number of patients with liver cirrhosis (LC) makes 20–40 cases per 100 thousand populations and rises steadily. A five-year survival rate of patients with LC in the compensation stage is 50%–62%, in the decompensation stage — 11%–40%. In the overwhelming majority of patients (80%–90%), LC leads to the compensatory formation of esophageal and gastric varices (EV and GV, respectively), which is further complicated with a life-threatening bleeding in 30% of patients.

AIM: To evaluate 5-year results of partial portacaval shunt surgeries.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: The paper describes a 10-year clinical experience of the vascular surgery department of Yaroslavl Regional Clinical Hospital in surgical treatment of patients with LC with a clinical presentation of portal hypertension, with recorded esophageal and gastric variceal bleeding. The study included 26 patients (of them 11 men; the mean age 48 ± 7.3 years) with LC (A and B classes on Child-Pugh scale), who underwent planned reconstructive surgery on the portal system. By the type of anastomosis, the patients were divided into 3 groups: group 1 — mesocaval anastomosis (n = 6); group 2 — distal splenorenal anastomosis with preservation of spleen (n = 10); group 3 — splenorenal H-shaped shunt. The primary end points of the study were survival of the patients, rebleeding from EV, shunt patency. Secondary end points were dynamics of EV size, changes in the spleen size, dynamics of the portal and splenic veins size, blood flow directions in the portal system, the presence of hepatic encephalopathy. Postoperative mortality was 3.8%.

RESULTS: Survival at 1, 3 and 5 years was 96%, 90% and 58, respectively, and patency of anastomoses was 96%, 96% and 91%, respectively. Rebleeding at 1 year made 4% (n = 1), at 3 years — 0, at 5 years — 17% (n = 2). Changes in the hemodynamics of the portal system were recorded after formation of all types of anastomoses: reduction of the diameter of the portal vein by on average 5 mm, of the splenic vein by 3 mm, of the spleen size by 210 cm³. Shunt thrombosis occurred in two of 26 patients (7.7%) at 1 year (splenorenal H-shaped shunt with use of prosthesis) and 4 years (splenorenal autovenous shunt), respectively.

CONCLUSION: The formation of partial portacaval anastomoses in patients with portal hypertension and episodes of bleeding from esophageal varices is a reliable prevention of rebleeding. The first bleeding episode is an indication for an open surgery in case the transjugular intrahepatic stenting is impossible. Survival rate of patients after portacaval shunt surgeries is determined by the initial degree of hepatic failure and patency of the formed anastomoses.