Capuano G, Pomponi D, Iaccarino V, Budillon G
Gastroenterology, Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Naples Federico II, Via S Pansini 5, 80131 Naples, Italy.
Dig Liver Dis. 2004 Sep;36(9):628-31. doi: 10.1016/j.dld.2003.11.031.
A 76-year-old woman with abdominal pain and diarrhoea developed ascites that did not respond to treatment. There were no signs of liver damage. Abdominal ultrasonography with colour Doppler revealed an arterial-like flow in the enlarged splenic vein. Using selective mesenteric arteriography, we were able to diagnose a shunt between the inferior mesenteric artery and the inferior mesenteric vein. This is an unusual case of ascites due to prehepatic portal hypertension secondary to an extrahepatic arterioportal fistula.
