[Portal cavernoma compressing the bile duct. Apropos of three cases]

Three cases of biliary tract compression caused by a cavernous transformation of the portal vein are reported. Revealing symptoms of biliary disease were anicteric and asymptomatic cholestasis in one patient, and cholangitis and obstructive jaundice in one case each. Endoscopic retrograde cholangiograms showed that the compression was located in the common bile duct in two cases and in the main bile duct in one. The responsibility of the portal cavernoma was established by the disappearance of jaundice after splenorenal shunt in one case. Biliary consequences of a portal cavernoma are very uncommon. Compression by the turgescent venous network combined with a sclero-inflammatory reaction of the biliary tract are the most likely causes.