Inferior Vena Cava Stent Resolves Hepatopulmonary Syndrome in an Adult with a Spontaneous Inferior Vena Cava-Portal Vein Shunt

摘要

Hepatic encephalopathy and hepatopulmonary syndrome are classically seen in patients with cirrhosis and hepatic synthetic dysfunction. However, they can be caused by vascular anomalies that shunt blood away from the liver. In these settings, the vascular anomalies most often require surgical correction or liver transplantation. However, we report a case of a 43-year-old male with hepatic encephalopathy and hepatopulmonary syndrome from a type 2 Abernethy malformation that was corrected with an inferior vena cava (IVC) stent.