Postshunt myelopathy.

Postshunt myelopathy is a rare, severely debilitating syndrome complicating portosystemic shunts that is characterized by spastic paraparesis. In this report we describe a 39-year-old woman with alcoholic liver disease and postshunt myelopathy resulting in an inability to walk. The syndrome did not become manifest until eight years after construction of a side-to-side portacaval shunt. This case is compared with reported literature on the subject.