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Portacaval shunt

Symptoms: Patients with portal hypertension will have varices, which are swellings of veins near the esophagus and rectum caused by backup of blood in the diseased liver. Varices may bleed, leading to the vomiting of blood or blood discharge from the rectum. Patients may also have enlarged veins on the surface of the abdominal wall. Liver diseases involving portal hypertension often also cause jaundice (a yellow tinge to the skin and eyeballs), ascites (accumulation of fluid in the abdomen), and difficulty with stopping bleeding, due to an inability of the diseased liver to make clotting factors. As the liver fails to clear toxins from the body, patients may also suffer from hepatic encephalopathy, a disorder where concentration, mental status, and memory are affected; in extreme cases, encephalopathy can lead to coma. Signs and tests: Text Continues Below Many different laboratory tests are used to determine the presence and causes of liver disease. Liver function tests may be abnormal. Blood tests may detect the presence of viral hepatitis. Percutaneous liver biopsy may help diagnose liver disease. Endoscopy may be used to diagnosis esophageal varices. Hemochromatosis, primary biliary cirrhosis, and primary sclerosing cholangitis may be diagnosed with a combination of laboratory blood tests and physical exam.

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