What to do about portal hypertension

Most of our portal hypertension is the result of hepatitis B cirrhosis, often manifested as vomiting blood? black stools, hypersplenism and ascites; it seriously affects the quality of life of patients. Some patients are hospitalized due to recurrent bleeding, which puts a heavy burden on the family economy and even impoverishes some families as a result; some patients live in fear of bleeding. Hypersplenism makes the white blood cells, red blood cells as well as platelets decrease, and as a result, the patient has low resistance and often bleeds from the gums or develops petechiae under the skin with a slight impact. The bleeding is caused by varices in the fundus of the stomach and lower esophagus due to increased portal pressure, and bleeding occurs when the varices rupture. If the bleeding is not properly treated, the patient may die of asphyxia or circulatory failure due to blood loss. The interval between the first bleeding and the second bleeding is mostly 2 years, but the interval between subsequent bleeding becomes shorter and shorter. Repeated bleeding aggravates the impairment of liver function and the loss of surgical opportunities. Among the current means of treating portal hypertension, the measure that can address both upper gastrointestinal bleeding and hypersplenism is surgery: removal of the enlarged spleen and dissection of the peripancreatic vessels. This prolongs the interval of bleeding in the patient.