Liver Cirrhosis Update

[RAAN88]

Hi all,

my wife had her third follow up today and we’ve been told the following:

From the MRI, they believe that there is a narrowing of the inferor vena cava vein which transports blood from the liver to the heart. Due to this narrowing, the vein has formed new vessels to by pass the narrowing and continue the blood flow to the heart. This in turn has caused a back flow and scarring of the liver. They’ve also noticed that due to this narrowing, it is also lead to slight portal vein hypertension.

The next step is to have dye inserted into her veins to better understand the blood flow and the narrowing.

They’ve done extension investigations and everything more obvious for cause of this disease came back clear.

Any advice would be appreciated

r

[Fibro2021]

Hi, may I ask if your wife has swelling in her legs, varicose subcutaneous veins in her legs, or hemorrhoids? Perhaps visible or only palpable veins under the skin of the abdomen?

[RAAN88 in reply to Fibro2021]

Hey, thank you for your reply.

My wife often complains of sore calf’s but her legs don’t swell. She has noticed over the last few years that she has become bloated and her abdomen does look full. I do wonder if this is related. The only other thing which could link back to her possible condition is that she’s unable to exert herself for to long and gets tired quickly, starts seeing stars and becomes faded. So I assume this is in line with blood flow not being sufficient enough for the heart?

we just hope this is the cause as it can be treated. Consultant again emphasised that the liver is completely operating as normal.

[vinylcollector]

I am early stages of cirrhosis. I have regular scans they told me blood is flowing in the right direction, but some back pressure is causing an enlarged spleen. I would talk to your consultant or specialist Liver nurse. The scarring is cirrhosis. At that stage, the Portal Hypertension must be severe enough to cause effects on the heart. It all seems a little back-to-front in your description. But I'm not a qualified medical person. Talk to a professional.

[RAAN88 in reply to vinylcollector]

I believe because the narrowing is in the IVC vein, this is causing a back flow and pressure onto the liver and there onto the portal vein.

[Fibro2021 in reply to RAAN88]

It's possible that they are talking about one of the types of Budd-Chiari syndrome. I think your wife's doctors will soon move forward in determining the cause of what is happening.

[BritishLiverTrust8 Moderator British Liver Trust]

Dear RAAN88

If you [are in the UK and] would find it useful to talk things over, our nurse-led helpline is open Monday to Friday from 9am to 3pm on 0800 652 7330 (excluding bank holidays)

Best wishes

British Liver Trust

[RAAN88]

Hello everyone! It has been some time since I last visited this forum, but I wanted to reach out for some advice. My wife has been experiencing liver pain for almost 8 years. About a year ago, she underwent a fibro scan, which showed a reading of 20kPA. Following this, she underwent ultrasound and MRI scans, and the results indicated that her symptoms were due to an absent hepatic IVC with the right hepatic vein connecting to Indra hepatic IVC and draining backward into collaterals. There was extensive drainage into the azygous system and minimal IVC flow. No cardiac abnormalities were found on the echocardiogram.

We sought a second opinion from the Royal Free Hospital in a multidisciplinary team (MDT) meeting. However, they informed us that the options available were either a liver transplant or inserting a stent into the veins to improve blood flow, both of which carried a high risk. Our concern is that although her liver is currently functioning normally, the narrowing or absence of the IVC vein will eventually lead to its failure.

We are looking for recommendations for specialist hospitals, both nationally and internationally, where we can seek additional opinions on her case. She has already been referred to Birmingham for a third opinion, but we would like to explore other options as well. Our current consultants have been incredibly helpful. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask.