Varices again?

[Peeps7]

My husband was diagnosed with cirrhosis as a result of AIH early last year, following bleeding caused by varices. He has now developed an enlarged, distended vein from his chest down to his tummy, any thoughts out there please? Thanks, Anne.

[AyrshireK]

My hubby has exactly the same, same diagnosis, discovered by same upper GI bleed and he too has cirrhosis & portal hypertension.

He developed a massive bulging vein visible right down his chest and onto top of tummy - docs have all said it's normal with portal hypertension, we checked with GP and liver docs and they said there is no risk to it and it was a good sign that blood was using a big vein rather than backing up into smaller ones which were more likely to burst (i.e. varices).

Hope that puts your mind at ease but do run it past your own docs if you are at all uncertain.

All the best, Katie xx

[Peeps7 in reply to AyrshireK]

Oh thank you Katie that is so reassuring and makes logical sense. We are seeing the specialist on Thursday for ultrasound and check up. We can sleep better tonight! Thank you so much for replying Anne xxx

[AyrshireK in reply to Peeps7]

No worries Anne, I know we panicked a bit when Stephen's appeared and immediately got a GP appointment.

We are off to Edinburgh this Thursday for latest endoscopy (& banding if needed though been clear since last May so fingers crossed).

Good luck with ultrasound and appointment on Thursday.

Katie xx

[fornels1]

If there is cavernalization it means that the blood has developed collateral veins to get the blood circulation working. Just make sure it truly is cirrhosis and not simply portal vein thrombosis which as a better prognosis. Often people under the latter get misdiagnosed. There is another web site where people share their experiences with PVT.

[Peeps7]

Big day for everyone tomorrow, very good luck Katie! Thank you so much for your help xxx