Saeed Z A
Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology (9-FDT), St. Louis University Health Sciences Center, 3635 Vista Avenue at Grand, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA.
Curr Gastroenterol Rep. 1999 Feb-Mar;1(1):71-6. doi: 10.1007/s11894-999-0090-7.
Of the consequences of portal hypertension, varices carry the most sinister implications. During life, the risk of hemorrhage from varices hangs like a "sword of Damocles" over a cirrhotic's head. Hemorrhage, when it occurs, expedites the patient's demise, or often itself proves to be the terminal event. Compared with other causes of gastrointestinal bleeding, hemorrhage from varices is most severe, and the available therapies, over the long-term, are the least definitive.
