Anticoagulation therapy prevents portal-splenic vein thrombosis after splenectomy with gastroesophageal devascularization

AIM:To compare the incidence of early portal or splenic vein thrombosis(PSVT) in patients treated with irregular and regular anticoagulantion after splenectomy with gastroesophageal devascularization.METHODS:We retrospectively analyzed 301 patients who underwent splenectomy with gastroesophageal devascularization for portal hypertension due to cirrhosis between April 2004 and July 2010.Patients were categorized into group A with irregular anticoagulation and group B with regular anticoagulation,respectively.Group A(153 patients) received anticoagulant monotherapy for an undesignated time period or with aspirin or warfarin without low-molecular-weight heparin(LMWH) irregularly.Group B(148 patients) received subcutaneous injection of LMWH routinely within the first 5 d after surgery,followed by oral warfarin and aspirin for one month regularly.The target prothrombin time/international normalized ratio(PT/INR) was 1.25-1.50.Platelet and PT/INR were monitored.Color Doppler imaging was performed to monitor PSVT as well as the effectiveness of thrombolytic therapy.RESULTS:The patients' data were collected and analyzed retrospectively.Among the patients,94 developed early postoperative mural PSVT,including 63 patients in group A(63/153,41.17%) and 31 patients in group B(31/148,20.94%).There were 50(32.67%) patients in group A and 27(18.24%) in group B with mural PSVT in the main trunk of portal vein.After the administration of thrombolytic,anticoagulant and antiaggregation therapy,complete or partial thrombus dissolution achieved in 50(79.37%) in group A and 26(83.87%) in group B.CONCLUSION:Regular anticoagulation therapy can reduce the incidence of PSVT in patients who undergo splenectomy with gastroesophageal devascularization,and regular anticoagulant therapy is safer and more effective than irregular anticoagulant therapy.Early and timely thrombolytic therapy is imperative and feasible for the prevention of PSVT.

Transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt versus open splenectomy and esophagogastric devascularization for portal hypertension with recurrent variceal bleeding

BACKGROUND： Transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt（TIPS） and open splenectomy and esophagogastric devascularization（OSED） are widely used to treat patients with portal hypertension and recurrent variceal bleeding（PHRVB）. This study aimed to compare the effectiveness between TIPS and OSED for the treatment of PHRVB.METHODS： The data were retrospectively retrieved from 479 cirrhotic patients（Child-Pugh A or B class） with PHRVB, who had undergone TIPS（TIPS group） or OSED（OSED group） between January 1, 2010 and October 31, 2014.RESULTS： A total of 196 patients received TIPS, whereas 283 underwent OSED. Within one month after TIPS and OSED, the rebleeding rates were 6.1% and 3.2%, respectively（P=0.122）. Significantly lower incidence of pleural effusion,splenic vein thrombosis, and pulmonary infection, as well as higher hepatic encephalopathy rate, shorter postoperative length of hospital stay, and higher hospital costs were observed in the TIPS group than those in the OSED group. During the follow-up periods（29 months）, significantly higher incidences of rebleeding（15.3% vs 4.6%, P=0.001） and hepatic encephalopathy（17.3% vs 3.9%, P=0.001） were observed in the TIPS group than in the OSED group. The incidence of instent stenosis was 18.9%. The survival rates were 91.3% in the TIPS group and 95.1% in the OSED group. The long-term liver function did not worsen after either TIPS or OSED.CONCLUSION： For the patients with liver function in the Child-Pugh A or B class, TIPS is not superior over OSED in terms of PHRVB treatment and rebleeding prevention.

Evaluation of the effects of combined endoscopic variceal ligation and splenectomy with pericardial devascularization on esophageal varices

AIM: To detect the hemodynamic alterations in collateral circulation before and after combined endoscopic variceal ligation (EVL) and splenectomy with pericardial devascularization by ultrasonography, and to evaluate their effect using hemodynamic parameters. METHODS: Forty-three patients with esophageal varices received combined EVL and splenectomy with pericardial devascularization for variceal eradication. The esophageal vein structures and azygos blood flow (AZBF) were detected by endoscopic ultrasonography and color Doppler ultrasound. The recurrence and rebleeding of esophageal varices were followed up. RESULTS: Patients with moderate or severe varices in the esophageal wall and those with severe peri- esophageal collateral vein varices had improvements after treatment, while the percentage of patients with severe para-esophageal collateral vein varices decreased from 54.49% to 2.33%, and the percentage of patients with detectable perforating veins decreased from 79.07% to 4.65% (P < 0.01). Color Doppler flowmetry showed a significant decrease both in AZBF (43.00%, P < 0.05) and in diameter of the azygos vein (28.85%, P < 0.05), while the blood flow rate was unchanged. The recurrence rate of esophageal varices was 2.5% (1/40, mild), while no re-bleeding cases were recorded. CONCLUSION: EVL in combination with splenectomy with pericardial devascularization can block the collateral veins both inside and outside of the esophageal wall, and is more advantagious over splenectomy in combination with pericardial devascularization or EVL in preventing recurrence and re-bleeding of varices.

Esophagogastric devascularization without splenectomy in portal hypertension: safe and effective?

BACKGROUND： Esophagogastric variceal hemorrhage is a life-threatening complication of portal hypertension. In this study, we compared the therapeutic effect of a novel surgi- cal procedure, esophagogastric devascularization without splenectomy （EDWS）, with the widely used modified esopha- gogastric devascularization （MED） with splenectomy for the treatment of portal hypertension.

Indocyanine green retention is a potential prognostic indicator after splenectomy and pericardial devascularization for cirrhotic patients

BACKGROUND：Splenectomy and pericardial devascularization（SPD）is an effective treatment of upper gastrointestinal bleeding and hypersplenism in cirrhotic patients with portal hypertension.Indocyanine green retention at 15 minutes（ICGR15）was reported to offer better sensitivity and specificity than the Child-Pugh classification in hepatectomy,but few reports describe ICGR15 in SPD.The present study was to evaluate the prognostic value of ICGR15 for cirrhotic patients with portal hypertension who underwent SPD.METHODS：From January 2012 to January 2015,43 patients with portal hypertension and hypersplenism caused by liver cirrhosis were admitted in our center and received SPD.The ICGR15,Child-Pugh classification,model for end-stage liver disease（MELD）score,and perioperative characteristics were analyzed retrospectively.RESULTS：Preoperative liver function assessment revealed that 34 patients were Child-Pugh class A with ICGR15 of13.6%-43.0%and MELD score of 7-20;8 patients were class B with ICGR15 of 22.8%-40.7%and MELD score of 7-17;1patient was class C with ICGR15 of 39.7%and MELD score of 22.The optimal ICGR15 threshold for liver function compensation was 31.2%,which offered a sensitivity of 68.4%and a specificity of 70.8%.Univariate analysis showed preoperative ICGR15,MELD score,surgical procedure,intraoperative blood loss,and autologous blood transfusion were significantly different between postoperative liver function compensated and decompensated groups.Multivariate regression analysis revealed that ICGR15 was an independent risk factor of postoperative liver function recovery（P=0.020）.CONCLUSIONS：ICGR15 has outperformed the Child-Pugh classification for assessing liver function in cirrhotic patients with portal hypertension.ICGR15 may be a suitable prognostic indicator for cirrhotic patients after SPD.

Transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt and splenectomy are more effective than endoscopic therapy for recurrent variceal bleeding in patients with idiopathic noncirrhotic portal hypertension

BACKGROUND Transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt(TIPS),splenectomy plus esophagogastric devascularization(SED)and endoscopic therapy+non-selectiveβ-blockers(ET+NSBB)are widely applied in secondary prevention of recurrent gastroesophageal variceal bleeding in patients with liver cirrhosis.These different treatments,however,have not been compared in patients with idiopathic noncirrhotic portal hypertension(INCPH).AIM To compare the outcomes of TIPS,SED and ET+NSBB in the control of variceal rebleeding in patients with INCPH.METHODS This retrospective study recruited patients from six centers across China.Demographic characteristics,baseline profiles and follow-up clinical outcomes were collected.Post-procedural clinical outcomes,including incidence of rebleeding,hepatic encephalopathy(HE),portal vein thrombosis(PVT)and mortality rates,were compared in the different groups.RESULTS In total,81 patients were recruited,with 28 receiving TIPS,26 SED,and 27 ET+NSBB.No significant differences in demographic and baseline characteristics were found among these three groups before the procedures.After treatment,blood ammonia was significantly higher in the TIPS group;hemoglobin level and platelet count were significantly higher in the SED group(P<0.01).Rebleeding rate was significantly higher in the ET+NSBB group(P<0.01).Mortality was 3.6%,3.8%and 14.8%in the TIPS,SED and ET+NSBB groups,respectively,with no significant differences(P=0.082).Logistic regression analysis showed that mortality was significantly correlated with rebleeding,HE,portal thrombosis and superior mesenteric vein thrombosis(P<0.05).CONCLUSION In patients with INCPH,TIPS and SED were more effective in controlling rebleeding than ET+NSBB,but survival rates were not significantly different among the three groups.Mortality was significantly correlated with rebleeding,HE and PVT.