Madeeha Nazar, Javaria Zahid Khan, Muhammad Umar, Nafia Tahir, Abdullah Abbasi.
Antiphospholipid Syndrome Presenting as Cavernous Transformation of Portal Vein Secondary to Portal Vein Thrombosis.
J Rawal Med Coll Jan ;19(1):96-7.

Cavernous transformation of portal vein is a rare disorder caused by long standing portal vein thrombosis. As a compensatory mechanism there is dilatation of small blood vessels in and around the portal vein in about 3 to 4 weeks.1 However despite the opening of collaterals there is development of significant portal hypertension that may manifest after some time in the form of variceal bleed or splenomegaly leading to hypersplenism.The diagnosis is done on abdominal ultrasound, portal vein Doppler and CT angiography.2 Portal vein thrombosis can be idiopathic or secondary to cirrhosis, thrombophilia, myeloproliferative disorder or malignancy (hepatic or non-hepatic).3Treatment of portal hypertension varies from beta blockers, anticoagulation to shunt surgeries. Hypersplenism leading to thrombocytopenia can be a limitation to anticoagulation therapy.4

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