Effects of surgical procedures on the occurrence and development of postoperative portal vein thrombosis in patients with cirrhosis complicated by portal hypertension

• Incidence of postoperative portal vein thrombosis (PVT) was compared.
• Total 116 liver cirrhosis patients with portal hypertension were analyzed.
• Surgeries were SRS combined with PCDV, PCDV with splenectomy and selective PCDV.
• SRS combined with PCDV had lower incidence of postoperative PVT than others.
• SRS combined with PCDV significantly improved liver function compared with others.

ObjectiveWe have compared the influences of three surgical strategies on the occurrence and development of portal vein thrombosis (PVT) in patients with liver cirrhosis complicated by portal hypertension (PHT) in this study.MethodsTotal 116 patients who respectively underwent pericardial devascularization (PCDV) with splenectomy (PDS group: n = 50), selective PCDV (SPD group: n = 28) and splenorenal shunt (SRS) combined with PCDV (combined group: n = 38) were investigated in this study. The incidence of PVT before and after operation was monitored. The incidence of Grade II-IV PVT was used to assess the severity of PVT. The liver function was assessed according to the Child-Pugh classification.ResultsThe incidence and severity of PVT and live function were similar among the three groups before operation (P > 0.05). The incidence of PVT was significantly increased after surgery in each group (P < 0.001), but recovered to the baseline level at six months in combined group (P = 0.629). Besides, the severity of PVT was significantly aggravated in PDS (P < 0.001) and SPD (P = 0.026) groups after operation, but not in combined group (P = 0.525). Patients in combined group showed significantly lower incidence and severity of PVT than those in the other two groups at each follow-up time point (P < 0.05). In addition, the liver function in the combined group was significantly improved compared with the other two groups.ConclusionsSRS combined with PCDV is superior to PCDV with splenectomy and selective PCDV for PHT in liver cirrhotic patients in inhibiting the occurrence and development of postoperative PVT and improving liver function.