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The authors consider ectopic biliary varices as a possible cause of portal biliopathy in extrahepatic portal hypertension. The main diagnostic methods including ultrasound CT, MRI, endoscopic ultrasonography, cholangioscopy, difficulties of differential diagnosis and clinical manifestations of portal biliopathy are presented. Various treatment options including portosystemic shunting and endoscopic biliary decompression are discussed. The authors emphasize the role of differentiated treatment depending on bile duct lesions. The study not only reviews this problem, but also highlights the issues requiring further analysis for selection of optimal diagnostic and treatment methods.

Bleeding from ectopic varicose veins is a rare life-threatening cause of upper gastrointestinal hemorrhage. Alberti first described duodenal varices in 1931. According to the literature, incidence of duodenal varicose veins in patients with portal hypertension is 1-3% of all varicose veins. Bleeding from duodenal varices makes up 17% of all bleedings from other ectopic varices. Mortality in these patients may be up to 40%. The causes are delayed diagnosis, technical difficulties in endoscopic therapeutic procedures (sclerotherapy, endoscopic ligation), as well as ineffective Blackmore tube for hemorrhage in distal stomach and bowel. We report a rare case of upper gastrointestinal bleeding from ectopic duodenal varices.

Blakemore probe-obturator was previously preferable for primary hemostasis in patients with bleeding from esophageal varices. Currently, Danis self-expanding nitinol stent became an effective alternative. According to some manufacturers, Danis stent has some advantages over balloon tamponade. We report implantation of nitinol stent for hemostasis in a patient with multiple recurrent bleeding and ineffective endoscopic manipulations. A method of stent fixation for prevention of distal migration as the most common complication is described.

Objective: to study the expression of urokinase-type plasminogen activator (uPA) and plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) in the gastric mucosal (GM) vascular endothelium and epithelial cells of patients with portal hypertensive gastropathy (PHG) and those with portal hypertension (PH) without signs of PHG as compared to a control group., Material and Methods: GM biopsy specimens from patients with PHG, those with PH without signs of PHG, and controls with the normal gastric mucosa were immunohistochemically examined., Results: Comparison of the expression of uPA in the GM vascular endothelium and epithelial vessels revealed no significant differences in the patient groups. The level of PAI-1 in the GM vessels was statistically significantly higher in the control group than in the groups of patients with PHG and PH without PHG. PAI-1 expression in the GM epithelial cells was significantly more commonly absent in the PHG group than in the control group. An analysis of an uPA and PAI-1 expression ratio showed a statistically significant predominance of the expression of uPA over its inhibitor in the GM vascular endothelium of the patients with PHG and those with PH without PHG as compared to the controls., Conclusion: The predominance of uPA over PAI-1 in the GM vessels and epithelial cells can play a role in the development of GM bleeding.

The article highlights modern approaches to the treatment of portal hypertension. The differential tactics is based on the type of portal hypertension, functional liver state, urgency of the situation and severity of blood loss, localization and stage of varices, concomitant diseases, etc. The role of miniinvasive methods is stressed. The reasonability of general treatment algorithm of portal hypertention in specialized centers is proved.

The direct transcutaneous transhepatic portography was performed in 85 patients with hystologically confirmed liver cirrhosis, portal hypertension and varices of the esophagus and stomach. It was found out, that the left gastric vein partakes the varicous transformation in 100% of cases. The least had an isolated division in 27% of the studied patients. 68% had the significant dilatation of the posterior gastric vein, whereas 19 (22%) patients had the combined posterior, left and short gastric veins dilatation. The study allowed the modification of the M.D. Patsiora's operation (the azygo-portal disintegration), by supplementing it with the gastric devascularization. The new method increased the 2-years survival from 77 to 97%, improved the hemostatic effect from 51 to 89% and decrease the recurrences from 25 to 5%.

Portal hypertensive gastropathy (PHG) is a complex of secondary macroscopic and microscopic changes in the mucous layer of the stomach, resulting from portal hypertension of any origin. The overall prevalence of PHG ranges from 9.1 to 80%. PHG is a potential cause of an acute or chronic gastric bleeding. The presence of PHG is associated with prognosis deterioration that dictates the need for improved diagnosis and treatment strategy. The article summarizes literature on the pathological changes, diagnosis and classification of portal hypertensive gastropathy.