Sclerotherapy of esophageal varices

Sclerotherapy of esophageal varices is being reevaluated by many surgeons because of increasing dissatisfaction with shunting procedures. A new technique of sclerotherapy using the flexible fiberoptic endoscope with balloon tamponade of variceal channels is being evaluated. To date, 18 patients have been treated by us with this method. Nine patients with active bleeding had control of their hemorrhage. Two patients experienced three episodes of rebleeding. Of patients not actively bleeding at the time of injection, one patient experienced rebleeding and subsequently died. Four other deaths not related to varices have occurred in this series. All surviving patients underwent repeated sclerotherapy until eradication of varices was achieved. This report demonstrates the feasibility of sclerotherapy of esophageal varices using the flexible fiberoptic endoscope.