[Long-term results of side-to-side and H-graft mesocaval shunt]

From January, 1966 to January, 1988, mesocaval shunt was performed on 47 patients with the variceal hemorrhage secondary to portal hypertension. Of these, 30 patients underwent side-to-side mesocaval shunt, the remaining 17 had H-graft mesocaval shunt. Postoperative follow-up averaged 6 years and 11 months for the patients surviving operation. The rebleeding rate was 21.1%, and the shunt related encephalopathy rate 25.5%. The 5-, 10-, 15- and 20-year survival rates of the whole series were 65.8%, 51.8%, 37.5% and 20.0% respectively. We conclude that mesocaval shunt is the procedure of choice for treatment of variceal bleeding, especially for the control of postoperatively recurrent variceal bleeding.