Portal Biliopathy – a Lesser Known Complication of Portal Hypertension. Case Report and Review of the Literature

Horia Stefanescu1, Mircea Grigorescu1, Marcel Tantau2, Radu Badea3, Rodica Cormos4

1) Internal Medicine Department. 2) Endoscopy Department. 3) Ultrasonography Department. 4) Gastroenterology Department, 3rd Medical Clinic, University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Cluj-Napoca

Abstract

Portal biliopathy is a newly introduced term, describing the changes observed in the biliary ducts of portal hypertension patients. We present here the case of a patient diagnosed with portal vein thrombosis secondary to a chronic pancreatitis; the abnormalities in the bile ducts were observed during the endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography. We also review the existing information on this subject in the literature.

Key words

Portal hypertension - portal cavernoma - porto-portal collaterals - biliary compresion and stenosis