Surgical Shunt Procedures in Childhood Portal Hypertension: A Review Article

1. Abstract

Normal portal pressure is between 0 and 10 mm Hg and the pressure in the portal vein is slightly higher than that of the pressure in the inferior vena cava [1]. Portal hypertension (PH) is usually defined as either a hepatice venous pressure gradient greater than 5 mm Hg, or hepatic venous wedge pressure greater than 10 mm Hg [2]. It is usually encountered as a complication arising from chronic liver disease and cirrhosis. Common presentation of PH in children include catastrophic variceal hemorrhage usually from esophagus. Other common clinical features of PH include splenomegaly, hypersplenism, ascites, encephalopathy, hepatopulmonary syndrome and Porto pulmonary hypertension.