Collateral Pathways in Budd Chiari Syndrome- MDCT Depiction

Budd Chiari syndrome (BCS) is a condition arising from hepatic venous outflow tract obstruction (HVOTO) arising at the level of hepatic veins, inferior vena cava, right atrium or a combination of these. It can be classified as primary or secondary depending upon the underlying pathophysiology. Regardless of the cause of HVOTO, there is lack/complete absence of hepatic venous drainage leading to constellation of symptoms pertaining to portal hypertension with radiologically visible intrahepatic and extrahepatic porto-systemic collaterals. The presence of these collateral systems provide imaging diagnostic clue in chronic cases with cirrhosis labelled as chronic liver disease and thereby establishing the primary cause of cirrhosis to be BCS. Current essay aims to provide in depth knowledge of collateral pathways of BCS.