Transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) has proved invaluable in the evaluation of a number of conditions, including stroke, endocarditis, prosthetic valves, and acute aortic syndromes, as well as in the preoperative and perioperative evaluation of valvular heart disease. The value of TEE must of course be balanced against the risk of performing the procedure. The insertion and manipulation of a...

Cirrhosis is the leading cause of portal hypertension worldwide, with the development of bleeding gastroesophageal varices being one of the most life-threatening consequences. Endoscopy plays an indispensible role in the diagnosis, staging, and prophylactic or active management of varices. With the expected future refinements in endoscopic technology, capsule endoscopy may one day replace tradi...

Objective This preliminary study investigated the clinical safety and efficacy of foam sclerotherapy during shunt surgery to treat portal hypertension and gastroesophageal varices. Methods Seven patients with confirmed portal hypertension and a variceal bleeding history underwent mesocaval shunt with simultaneous polidocanol foam injection into the varices. Computed tomography and endoscopic ...

Patients with cirrhosis of the liver can develop gastric or gastroesophageal varices, which can bleed and become life threatening Gastric varices pose unique management challenges, as endoscopic therapies are limited Balloon-occluded retrograde transvenous obliteration (BRTO) is a treatment option for gastric varice at high risk of bleeding The BRTO is recommended for patients with gastrorenal ...

BACKGROUND The presence of gastroesophageal varices is considered a relative contraindication to performing transesophageal echocardiography (TEE), but this is based on expert opinion, and there is limited data to support this recommendation. The aim of this study was to review the complications and benefit of performing TEE in patients with known gastroesophageal varices. METHODS Fourteen pa...

Portal hypertension, a major hallmark of cirrhosis, is defined as a portal pressure gradient exceeding 5 mm Hg. In portal hypertension, porto-systemic collaterals decompress the portal circulation and give rise to varices. Successful management of portal hypertension and its complications requires knowledge of the underlying pathophysiology, the pertinent anatomy, and the natural history of the...

Gastroesophageal varices are a common complication of cirrhosis and are present in approximately 50% of patients with cirrhosis.[1] Acute gastroesophageal variceal hemorrhage is a severe complication of cirrhosis or portal hypertension associated with high mortality.[1‐3] Although mortality of gastroesophageal variceal hemorrhage has decreased in the past three decades, it remains the most comm...

Portal hypertension and associated complications cause significant morbidity and mortality in cirrhotic patients. Variceal development is the most important portal hypertension related complication. Varices most commonly occur around the gastroesophageal junction, but ectopic varices may develop in many gastrointestinal and extra-gastrointestinal localizations. Duodenum is one of the most commo...

Background and aims: Due to the invasiveness of upper gastrointestinal endoscopy, non-invasive diagnostic tests for varices in liver cirrhosis have been widely established by numerous studies. A questionnaire survey, which was aimed at understanding the current knowledge about non-invasive diagnostic tests for varices in liver cirrhosis, was distributed among the members of Gastroenterology Bra...

A 68-year-old man with hemophilia A and liver cirrhosis caused by hepatitis C virus was referred to our hospital to receive prophylactic endoscopic treatment for gastroesophageal varices (GOV). He had large, tense, and winding esophageal varices (EV) with cherry red spots extending down to lesser curve, predicting the likelihood of bleeding. Esophageal endoscopic injection sclerotherapy (EIS) w...