Long-term management after variceal bleed--the current role of sclerotherapy

While injection sclerotherapy has been accepted as the treatment of choice for acute variceal bleeding, its role as a definitive long-term treatment modality has not yet been clearly defined. This paper will critically analyse the current status of this technique, now widely used, and a comparison will be made with conventional medical management. The review will be based on the 10 years' Cape Town experience and the published series on this subject. A long-term management strategy will also be discussed.