Inferior vena cava stent grafting closure of a high-flow portacaval shunt

Portacaval (PC) shunts can be of congenital or acquired types. Acquired PC shunts are usually created in patients with end-stage liver disease to manage complications associated with portal hypertension or may be part of selected adult-adult living donor liver transplantation procedures to decrease the chance of the small-for-size syndrome. The main potential complication of these acquired high-flow PC shunts is early hepatic encephalopathy. We present a case of a high-flow acquired PC shunt after liver transplantation that was complicated by uncontrolled encephalopathy. This was treated by endovascular inferior vena cava stent grafting for shunt closure.