Korean J Gastrointest Endosc.  1994 Dec;14(4):397-401.

Endoscopic Variceal Ligation for Treatment of Bleeding Esophageal Varices

• Lee JD
• Cho JH
• Kwak SJ

Abstract

The endoscopic variceal ligation(EVL) has been adopted as a new treatment for acute hemorrhage from esophageal varices that ranks the highest mortality rate in upper gastrointestinal tract bleedings. This treatment method has good effects for the urgent treatment and eradication of varices from acute variceal bleeding in repeated sessions. We enrolled 34 patients with an acute or chronic variceal bleeding episode at the time of admission in this study from Apr. 8, 1992 to June. 2, 1994. Among 34 patients, there were 31 males and 3 females, at ages between 45-66(mean: 52 years). The incidence of symptoms on admission was 10 in tarry stool, 9 in hematemesis 8 in ascites, 4 in hepatic encephalopathy and 3 in nonspecific symptoms. Varices were eradicated or reduced to grade I in 30(88.2%) of the 34 patients by 4-25 bands (mean: 10.8 bands) in 1-7 EVL sessions(mean: 3.1 sessions). After EVL, there are complicated by active bleeding in 3 patients, dysphagia in 3 patienta and transient chest discomfort in 5 patients but subsided during 24 hours. These results indicated that EVL is a safe method for treatment of bleeding from esophageal varices.

Keyword

Esophageal varix; Endoscopic variceal ligation

MeSH Terms

Ascites
Deglutition Disorders
Esophageal and Gastric Varices*
Female
Hematemesis
Hemorrhage*
Hepatic Encephalopathy
Humans
Incidence
Ligation*
Male
Mortality
Thorax
Upper Gastrointestinal Tract
Varicose Veins