[Portal hypertension in children: venous shunting in the early childhood].

Operations were carried out on 98 children with extrahepatic portal hypertension and on 6 with intrahepatic block and no signs of hepatocellular insufficiency. Mesenterico-caval H-shunt was formed in 78 children with the use of the internal jugular vein as the insert. The remaining children underwent formation of mesocaval anastomosis (8), distal spleno-renal shunt (4), portocaval anastomosis (1), Sugiura's operation (7). Among the operations 68 were planned, 12 emergency, and 18 preventive. The average age of the children was 6.5 years; 31 were under the age of 5 years and 19 under 3 years of age. The youngest child was aged 10 months, the H-shunt was successful. The results of the operation: thrombosis of the shunt 0%, portosystem encephalopathy 0%, recurrent hemorrhage 0%, lethality 1%. This is evidence of the expediency of performing shunting operations in early childhood.