Portasystemic shunts in primary biliary cirrhosis: survival is the same as in patients with Laennec's cirrhosis and postnecrotic cirrhosis.

There is little information regarding survival of patients with primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) who undergo portasystemic shunt operations. The few published reports suggest that survival may be better in this group than in patients with other types of cirrhosis who undergo this procedure. Therefore, we reviewed our experience with 17 patients with PBC who underwent portasystemic shunts and compared their survival with 100 patients with Laennec's and postnecrotic cirrhosis, using the life-table method. We find that survival rates are the same in patients with PBC, Laennec's cirrhosis, and postnecrotic cirrhosis following portasystemic anastomosis.