[Problems in operative treatment of portal hypertension by intrahepatic block (author's transl)]

Besides the high risk of surgery for bleeding esophageal varices, this therapy can involve an unacceptable rate of late complications following portacaval shunt (PCS). High mortality (liver failure) and morbidity (encephalopathy) can only be diminished by strict selection of patients. Alternative procedures have not yet been proved preferable in the long term. This is also true for the PCS with arterialization of the hepatic part of the portal vein. On the grounds of their own results, the author and his colleagues prefer the distal splenorenal anastomosis (Warren shunt).