Diagnosis and treatment of biliary obstruction caused by portal cavernoma

While hemorrhagic complications of portal cavernoma are frequent, compression of the bile ducts by portal cavernoma is uncommon and treatment is still a matter for debate. We report here six new cases in order to describe: (a) the clinical, biological, and morphological features of this condition, and (b) the long-term results of a combined endoscopic and surgical treatment. The median age of patients at the time of diagnosis was 36.5 years. The circumstances of diagnosis were acute cholangitis (n = 3), asymptomatic biological cholestasis (n = 1), pruritus, jaundice and asthenia (n = 1) and jaundice alone (n = 1). Portal cavernoma and bile duct dilatation were confirmed by abdominal ultrasonography with pulsed color doppler and endoscopic retrograde cholangiography (ERC). Gallstones were found in four patients. Following stenting of the bile duct, there was a good outcome in two patients. In four patients, after failure of prolonged endoscopic treatment, second-line surgical portal-systemic shunting allowed removal of the biliary stent, and no recurrence of disease. In conclusion, biliary involvement in portal cavernoma is now a well-recognized entity, and our results suggest that combined endoscopic and surgical treatment could be required.