Guest guest Posted November 21, 2003 Report Share Posted November 21, 2003 Philip, Sending prayers your way for your son and especially your brother. Hope he goes to AA and things improve all around. Take care. Kath Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 20, 2004 Report Share Posted January 20, 2004 Aubrey, Thanks very much for sharing your valuable and authoritative knowledge. My consultant discovered some esophagal varices near my gullet and as a result I had to have a tranfusion to replace the blood lost in internal bleeding. The scary thing is I was not aware of this my only evidence of something wrong being extreme fatigue and discolouration of my stools. I am on medication for this condition at the moment , should I assume that this will be indefinite ? Regards Tony B psc 99 uc 2000 Philip > The veins on your abdomen are called caput Medusa because they look like > that mythical head of snakes on Medusa. They are a sign of portal > hypertension as the veins enlarge in an attempt to allow the flow of blow > back to the heart and around the fibrosed liver. An ERCP or MRCP are not > used to look for portal hypertension. An esophagoscopy or gastroscopy are > used to look for varices in the esophagus and stomach. A special US can see > signs of portal hypertension and reversed blood flow in the abdominal veins > and arteries. An MRI can see varices, especially when done with contrast. > From you description of the veins on your abdomen I have no doubt that you > have portal hypertension. These veins resolve after tx. > -- > Aubrey > MD, PSC 1981, Psoriatic Arthritis 1986, UC 1991, LTX 10/5/98 > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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