Re: Portal Hypertension

Posted By HFHSM.D.-ym on October 10, 1998 at 22:02:44:

In Reply to: Re: Portal Hypertension posted by Penny on October 10, 1998 at 10:34:32:






My 58-yr old sister died 3 months ago with "Portal Hypertension" being listed as the cause of death.  She was grossly overweight, had gone through 5-bypass surgery 5 years ago and, during the last year before her death was hospitalized several times for bleeding.  She had been sent to various specialists over the past year, one of whom said she had cirrhosis (she was definitely NOT a drinker).  Over the past year, she experienced constant, debilitating fatigue, swollen feet, ankles, legs, extreme pain, etc.  On her first hospitalization, she had several pints of fluid drained from her body and she also received transfusions.  Finally, the end of June, this year, she was hospitalized again on a Wed. evening and died Thurs. morning.  They had done surgery the night before she died and found too many blood vessels bleeding out to repair and they stated she had an ulcer and that her liver looked "like a can of peas".  All of the doctors stated they were "shocked she had died".  My family is having a lot of difficulty dealing with not knowing exactly what happened to her, what caused this and if there was anything that could have been done to prevent her death.  So far, we have been unable to get any answers from her doctors.  Can you help?
Dear Penny,
It is very hard to accurately define the cause of your sister's death. From the description of the events leading to her death is quite clear to me that she had complex medical problems. Portal hypertension is a condition that occurs with liver cirrhosis (from whatever cause-alcohol is just one possible explanation). Portal hypertension refers to an elevated pressure in the veins entering the liver. It is associated with swollen veins in the esophagus and other areas of the body. These swollen veins (called varices) can cause massive gastrointestinal hemorrhage. Other complications of cirrhosis include: ascites (fluid accumulation in the abdomen), spontaneous bacterial peritonitis (infection of the lining of the abdominal cavity and the fluid that has accumulated in the abdomen) and encephalopathy (mental status changes and confusion associated with liver failure). I hope you find this information helpful.
This response is being provided for general informational purposes only and should not be considered medical advice or consultation. Always check with your personal physician when you have a question pertaining to your health.
HFHSM.D.-ym
*Keywords: portal hypertension, cirrhosis