Everything You Need To Know About Portal Hypertension

Everything You Need To Know About Portal Hypertension

Everything You Need

Portal hypertension is a condition with serious and fatal complications. Read on to know more about the disease and how to treat it.

This increased pressure makes it difficult for blood to flow normally through the portal vein. These veins are enlarged and tortuous resulting in portal hypertension.

Symptoms OF Portal Hypertension

There are two main symptoms of portal hypertension, viz

• Gastrointestinal Bleeding: Blood in black stools or vomit or unplanned gastrointestinal bleeding in hemoglobin.
• Ascites: Abdominal fluid accumulation, encephalopathy, confusion and fogginess, jaundice, yellowing of the skin, and swelling of the sclera and lower extremities.

Diagnosis Of Portal Hypertension

OnlyMyHealth explained in an exclusive chat with Dr Shubham Vatsya, Consultant Gastroenterology, Fortis Escorts Hospital, Faridabad that portal hypertension can be diagnosed through three processes. They are as follows:

1. Imaging and blood tests

An ultrasound is usually the initial imaging test.

What is portal hypertension?

2. Pressure Measurement Studies

These are invasive procedures that help us level the pressure in the hepatic (liver) vein.

3. Endoscopic Diagnosis

Endoscopy is an objective means of diagnosing varices.

Complications of Portal Hypertension

The most common complications of portal hypertension are:

1. Ascites

Ascites are an accumulation of fluid in the abdominal cavity. The most common cause of ascites is cirrhosis of the liver.

Among these procedures, the simplest and fastest method is a large-volume paracentesis, in which the gastroenterologist inserts a needle into the abdominal cavity under sterile precautions to remove approximately 3-5 liters of excess fluid from the abdominal cavity.

2. Varices

Bleeding from varices in patients with portal hypertension requires emergency treatment, and failure to resuscitate and stop bleeding can be fatal.

3. Encephalopathy

Symptoms include behavioral changes, reversal of the sleep-wake cycle, confusion, and altered behavior, and in severe cases can lead to coma and death. It is assumed that the concentration of ammonia in the blood is increased.

Hepatic encephalopathy is a clinical diagnosis. Treatment is usually through procedures aimed at reducing ammonia levels in the blood. The most common complication of portal hypertension is variceal bleeding.

Treatment Of Portal Hypertension

1. Endoscopic Therapy

Endoscopic variceal band placement is the best endoscopic approach to managing variceal bleeding. Other endoscopic procedures include glue injection and sclerotherapy to reduce variceal bleeding.

2. Shunting Procedures

Shunting is opted-in in cases where variceal bleeding cannot be stopped by endoscopic and medical management.

3. Liver Transplantation

Donors can be either living donors or deceased. The surgery is tedious and requires long hours. . However, there is no other treatment option other than liver transplant that is curative.

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