Surgical management of bleeding esopageal varices: the Tikur Anbessa hospital experience
Kassa, E.; Jhonson, O.
Ethiopian Medical Journal 43(4): 267-272
2005
ISSN/ISBN: 0014-1755 PMID: 16523647 Document Number: 591606
Surgery is one of the modalities of treatment of portal hypertension with bleeding esophageal varices. Between 1992 and 2003, a total of 33 patients with esophageal varices secondary to hepatic or pre-hepatic causes of portal hypertension underwent proto-azygeal disconnection surgery at Tikur Anbessa Hospital, Addis Ababa University. Twenty-five, (69. 7%) were men and 8 (24.3%) were women. Their age ranged between 13 and 54 years with a mean age of 24.3 years. Eighty two percent of the patients had hematemesis and melena. Thirty-two, (97%) patients had splenomegaly and of these; 27 (84%) had splenomegaqly with hyperslenism. Twenty-one, (63.6%) and 12 (36.6%) patients had child's A and B functional class, respectively. None of the patients was in class C. The condition of the liver as assessed macroscopically at surgery showed portal fibrosis in 22 (66.7%), cirrhosis in 3 (9.1%) and normal liver in 8 (24.2%) patients. There was no significant correlation between variceal bleeding episode and type of liver pathology. Four patients (12%) died after surgery and re-bleeding occurred in one (3%) patients. Porto-azygeal disconnection surgery can be done safely in patients with esophageal varices and good liver function in order to prevent further bleeding episode.