Injection sclerotherapy of esophageal varices using ethanolamine oleate.

Fifty-three patients with upper gastrointestinal bleeding and proven esophageal varices were treated by intravascular injection sclerotherapy of the varices using a mixture of ethanolamine oleate, bovine thrombin and cephalothin. An intraesophageal balloon was used to impede craniad flow during the injection. Except in three patients who failed to stop bleeding from nonvariceal lesions, sclerotherapy was 94 percent successful in controlling bleeding. The mortality rate in sclerotherapy patients with ascites was 25 percent compared with 54 to 75% reported elsewhere. There has been no rebleeding from varices after the third treatment week in patients followed up for up to 14 months.