Endoscopic management of obstructive jaundice due to portal cavernoma.

This report describes 2 cases of calcified cavernous transformation of portal vein of unknown etiology. In both cases the revealing symptom was jaundice due to extrinsic compression of the common bile duct by the cavernoma. Only 4 other cases have been previously described in the literature. The cause of the jaundice was discovered only during surgery and confirmed by arteriography. Endoscopic retrograde cholangiography allowed both the diagnosis and the palliative treatment of the stricture of the distal common bile duct. Surgical treatment could not be performed.