Observation of immediate and mid-term effects of partial spleen embolization in reducing hepatic venous pressure gradient

OBJECTIVE: To observe the immediate and mid-term effects of partial spleen embolization (PSE) in reducing hepatic venous pressure gradient (HVPG) in patients with cirrhotic esophagogastric varices. METHODS: Patients diagnosed with cirrhosis and esophagogastric varices in our hospital between July 2016 and March 2018 were consecutively selected. Forty-three patients were selected based on the eligibility criteria to undergo PSE. The change in HVPG 5 minutes before and after embolization, was used to determine the immediate effect of PSE on HVPG reduction. HVPG was retested after 6 months to observe the change in the antihypertensive effect along with time. RESULTS: Forty-three patients successfully underwent PSE and HVPG measurements. The HVPG was 17.7 ± 3.9 mmHg and 13.9 ± 3.1 mmHg before and after PSE, respectively, showing a significant decrease (21.5%, P < .05). Among them, 18 cases were retested for HVPG at 6 months after PSE, and the results showed significant differences in the HVPG levels before, immediately and 6 months after PSE. Compared with preoperative PSE, HVPG was decreased by 22.9% and 17.7% (P < 0.05) immediately and at 6 months after operation, respectively. There was no significant change at 6 months after PSE when compared with immediate postoperative PSE. No serious complications were observed in patients during their postoperative hospital stay. CONCLUSION: PSE immediately reduced the portal pressure, and HVPG remained stable at 6 months after surgery. PSE is considered as a safe and easy to implement method, and is expected to be one of the treatments for reducing the portal pressure.