Current therapeutic strategy in bleeding esophageal varices in babies and children and long-term results of endoscopic paravariceal sclerotherapy over twenty years.

71 consecutive babies and children with bleeding esophageal varices managed primarily by emergency or elective paravariceal endoscopic sclerotherapy (PES) have been reviewed and followed up for twenty years. In 36 of them 53 different operations to prevent further variceal hemorrhage had been performed without permanent success. In 50 children (70 per cent--Group Ia), portal vein obstruction, in 2 (3 per cent--Group Ib), congenital hepatic fibrosis and in 19 (27 per cent--Group II) babies and children different types of cirrhoses were the cause of portal hypertension. Emergency PES was necessary for 29 and successful for 28 children (96.5 per cent). Recurrent bleeding in one child stopped after introduction and inflation of the Sengstaken-Blakemore tube. In one case an urgent transthoracic esophageal resection and fundoplication was performed because of recurrent hemorrhage in spite of repeated PES. 6 children--3 foreigners--were lost to follow-up after 3, 5, 6, 7, 11 and 12 years. Under regular PES there were 3 rebleedings (4 per cent) during the first month managed successfully by PES or conservatively; another 3 rebleedings (4 per cent) occurred during the first year. In "sclerotherapy failures" (recurrent hemorrhage in spite of chronic PES in 6 children aged more than 10 years 6 elective and selective shunts were carried out 3, 5, 6, 8, 10 and eleven years after the first PES. The number of complications was high, but the vast majority was asymptomatic and no complications was responsible for death. There was no death in children with portal vein obstruction.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)