Multidisciplinary treatment in Budd-Chiari syndrome: clinical case

Budd-Chiari Syndrome (BCS) is characterized by obstruction of hepatic venous outflow. When obstruction is limited to the suprahepatic veins, portocaval shunting provides an immediate relief of symptoms. If the obstacle results also from narrowing of the inferior vena cava (IVC), multimodality treatments seem to offer safer and easier alternative. In the patient herein reported, combination of side-to-side portocaval anastomosis with a cavo-atrial shunt through an expandible metallic stent provided immediate relief of symptoms. The patient is doing well after 85 months from combined treatment. In conclusion infracaval stenting combined to side-to-side portocaval shunting should represent the treatment of choice in acute or subacute forms of BCS.