Liver transplantation as ultimate tool to treat portal hypertension.

Portal hypertension is a complication of liver cirrhosis that may itself cause complications such as variceal bleeding, ascites and hepatorenal syndrome. There are several options for symptomatic treatment including drug therapy, endoscopy, transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS), and various surgical procedures, notably liver transplantation, the only causal treatment. The indication for liver transplantation has to be defined carefully. Progression of the primary disease, evaluation of comorbidity and overall prognosis have to be considered. Conservative symptomatic treatment is used for bridging purposes until liver transplantation can be provided to cure portal hypertension and the underlying primary disease. Careful timing of the transplantation is necessary as well as reorganization of the waiting lists by introducing new priority systems as the Model for End-Stage Liver Disease (MELD) in order to reduce mortality. Furthermore, living donor liver transplantation and split liver transplantation are methods to enlarge the donor pool, and thus accessibility of transplantation to a greater number of patients. This review evaluates the indication of liver transplantation in the treatment of portal hypertension. 2005 S. Karger AG, Basel