Splenic artery aneurysms and extrahepatic portal hypertension during pregnancy

Clinical case demonstrates successful treatment of a pregnant woman, who had multiple giant splenic artery aneurysms with a high risk of spontaneous rupture. Pregnancy proceeded along with hereditary thrombophilia, thrombosis and cavernous transformation of the vena cava, extrahepatic portal hypertension, esophageal and gastric varices II–III. The surgical and obstetric tactics, surgical intervention, appropriate salvage and multidisciplinary pregnancy follow-up ensured a successful Cesarean delivery at 38 weeks, saving the life of the child and mother.

Assessment of the patency of the left portal vein during mesoportal shunting in children with extrahepatic portal hypertension

BACKGROUND: One of the most common causes of extrahepatic portal hypertension in children is portal vein thrombosis. The causes of this disease are different and, in most cases, remain unrecognized. Along with this, the mesoportal shunt (Rex shunt) proved itself and today is considered the gold standard to treat extrahepatic portal hypertension in children. The restoration of hepatopetal blood flow eliminates gastroesophageal bleeding, splenomegaly, hypersplenism, and many other complications. For the results of mesoportal shunt to be successful, several conditions must be met, one of which is the patency of the umbilical portion of the left portal vein. Despite the importance of preoperative diagnostics of the patency of this area, the most optimal instrumental research method has not yet been found. AIM: This literature review aims to highlight the main issues of extrahepatic portal hypertension etiopathogenesis, surgical treatment methods, and the most effective preoperative diagnostic methods to assess the patency of the left portal vein. RESULTS: The authors analyzed the sources of domestic and foreign literature on the etiology, pathogenesis of HSV in children, and laboratory and instrumental diagnostic methods to assess the patency of the PVI to plan the mesoportal shunting operation. CONCLUSIONS: Extrahepatic portal hypertension is a polyetiological disease with a possible hereditary predisposition to a thrombotic process under the influence of various triggers. The most common causes of portal vein thrombosis are omphalitis and umbilical vein catheterization in the neonatal period. Unfortunately, to date, none of the existing instrumental diagnostic methods can reliably answer the question about left portal vein patency. Due to the small number of works, the lack of a unified view on the problem of preoperative diagnosis of patients with extrahepatic portal hypertension, we could not reliably determine the specificity, sensitivity, and accuracy of each instrumental method. Therefore, we could not identify the gold standard method. Nevertheless, with further improvement of the methods for preoperative assessment of the left portal vein patency, surgeons will be more likely to predict the successful outcome of mesoportal shunting, which will generally affect the surgical treatment quality of extrahepatic portal hypertension in children.

Anesthesia in Children with Thrombocytopenia During Bypass Surgery for Extrahepatic Portal Hypertension (Review)

Portal hypertension syndrome is one of the most severe pediatric conditions causing gastroesophageal bleeding which can be fatal. The main challenge in the management of portal hypertension is prevention of bleeding from the portal vein system, which is achieved by vascular surgery, particularly portosystemic shunting. Epidural anesthesia, despite its advantages over the opioid one, is not always performed in children with extrahepatic portal hypertension, and still remains unsolved issue in pediatric anesthesiology.Aim of the review: to evaluate the scope of limitations of general anesthesia in bypass surgery for extrahepatic portal hypertension in children with thrombocytopenia. We searched PubMed, Medline, Elibrary.ru and other databases and used original clinical observations while performing anesthesiologic support of surgical correction of extrahepatic portal hypertension in children.We found that general anesthesia for portosystemic bypass surgery in children with thrombocytopenia requires the anesthetic support that does not include epidural anesthesia and high-dose opioid administration. This issue can be resolved by including the central selective alpha-2-adrenergic agonist dexmedetomidine with both analgesic and hypnotic effects in the anesthesia support. Due to its additive effects, this drug significantly reduces the need for hypnotics and opioid analgesics while maintaining a high level of neurovege-tative protection.Conclusion. In our opinion, optimizing anesthesia in children with thrombocytopenia during bypass surgery for extrahepatic portal hypertension is essential to minimize surgical stress and side effects of drugs.