Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2023 Feb 6;11(4):725-737.
doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v11.i4.725.

Portal vein aneurysm-etiology, multimodal imaging and current management

Admir Kurtcehajic  1 , Enver Zerem  2 , Ervin Alibegovic  3 , Suad Kunosic  4 , Ahmed Hujdurovic  5 , Jasmin A Fejzic  6
Affiliations
Review

Portal vein aneurysm-etiology, multimodal imaging and current management

Admir Kurtcehajic et al. World J Clin Cases. .

Abstract

Portal vein aneurysm (PVA) is a rare vascular abnormality, representing 3% of all venous aneurysms in the human body, and is not well understood. It can be congenital or acquired, located mainly at the level of confluence, main trunk, branches and bifurcation. A PVA as an abnormality of the portal venous system was first reported in 1956 by Barzilai and Kleckner. A review from 2015 entitled "Portal vein aneurysm: What to know" considered fewer than 200 cases. In the last seven years, there has been an increase in the number of PVAs diagnosed thanks to routine abdominal imaging. The aim of this review is to provide a comprehensive update of PVA, including aetiology, epidemiology, and clinical assessment, along with an evaluation of advanced multimodal imaging features of aneurysm and management approaches.

Keywords: Abdominal imaging; Aneurysm; Follow-up; Portal vein; Treatment.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflict-of-interest statement: There are no conflicts of interest to report.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Number of reported portal vein aneurysms per year, from January 2015 until December 2021. PVA: Portal vein aneurysms.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Sonography assessment of portal vein aneurysm. A: Abdominal ultrasound shows portal vein aneurysm (PVA) at the level of bifurcation; B: Spectral Doppler sonography shows nonpulsatile blood flow through the portal venous system with PVA.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Laurenzi A, Ettorre GM, Lionetti R, Meniconi RL, Colasanti M, Vennarecci G. Portal vein aneurysm: What to know. Dig Liver Dis. 2015;47:918–923. - PubMed
    1. Ahmed O, Ohman JW, Vachharajani N, Yano M, Sanford DE, Hammill C, Fields RC, Hawkins WG, Strasberg SM, Doyle MB, Chapman WC, Khan AS. Feasibility and safety of non-operative management of portal vein aneurysms: a thirty-five year experience. HPB (Oxford) 2021;23:127–133. - PubMed
    1. Gaba RC, Hardman JD, Bobra SJ. Extrahepatic Portal Vein Aneurysm. Radiol Case Rep. 2009;4:291. - PMC - PubMed
    1. De Vloo C, Matton T, Meersseman W, Maleux G, Houthoofd S, Op de Beeck K, Laleman W, Van Malenstein H, Nevens F, Verbeke L, Van der Merwe S, Verslype C. Thrombosis of a portal vein aneurysm: a case report with literature review. Acta Clin Belg. 2019;74:115–120. - PubMed
    1. Watanabe Y, Takase K, Okada K, Aikawa M, Okamoto K, Koyama I. Portal vein aneurysm with complete spontaneous regression after 10 years using conservative treatment. Clin J Gastroenterol. 2020;13:940–945. - PubMed