Side-to-side portacaval shunt in the treatment of Budd-Chiari syndrome.

This is a case of a 22-year-old female patient with idiopathic thrombosis of the hepatic veins in whom side-to-side portacaval shunt was followed by the disappearance of a hitherto intractable ascites and a marked improvement in her general condition. The patient remained well for 1 1/2 years after surgery; however, liver cirrhosis, which was present before shunt, persisted. From this case and from the few published cases, the authors concluded that side-to-side portacaval shunt might be beneficial to patients with thrombosis of the hepatic veins.