[The chronic form of the Budd-Chiari syndrome]

Abstract

A rare chronic course of Budd-Chiari syndrome associated with thrombosis of the portal vein was observed in a 30-year-old male patient suffering from postmyocarditic cardiosclerosis. At the age of 24 the patient had infectious allergic myocarditis, was hospitalized and rehospitalized for circulatory insufficiency. Upon 3 years since the disease onset the patient was admitted to a hematological department for progressive enlargement of the spleen. The diagnosis on discharge was idiopathic myelofibrosis with portal hypertension. The treatment included prednisolone, blood transfusions, myelosan. In 1987 the patient presented with enlarged liver and spleen, ascites, gastric and esophageal varicosis, augmenting hepatic insufficiency clinically evaluated as hepatic cirrhosis. Postmortem examination revealed macrofocal cardiosclerosis, splenomegaly, ascites, portal varicosis, enlarged nutmeg liver with smooth surface. Microscopically there was phlebosclerosis and phlebothrombosis varying in duration and involving predominantly medial branches of the hepatic and portal veins, liver fibrosis. The findings provided evidence for the final diagnosis of Budd-Chiari syndrome running an uncommon chronic course.