Original article
English
Hussam Eddine Elmajri , Abdulwahab Albarsha
1- Aljala Hospital, Benghazi, Libya 2- 7th of October Hospital, Benghazi, Libya
JMJ Vo1.7 No.1 (Spring) 2007:20-23
Abstract
Background: Endoscopic variceal ligation is the initial treatment of choice in the management of oesophageal varices. We review our experience with this procedure in patients with liver cirrhosis and oesophageal varices. Method: We reviewed the medical records of patients with oesophageal varices who underwent endoscopic variceal ligation from March 2004 to September 2005 in Aljala hospital, Benghazi, and we performed a brief review of literature about the current statue of endoscopic variceal ligation in the management of oesophageal varices. Results: 26 endoscopic variceal ligation sessions were performed on 17 patients, 14 of them admitted to the intensive care unit of Aljala hospital with bleeding oesophageal varices and three patients were admitted for elective treatment. In all bleeding patients the endoscopic variceal ligation was successful in controlling the variceal bleeding. No complications were reported from the procedure. Conclusion: We described the first cases of endoscopic variceal ligation reported in Benghazi. The procedure proved to be safe and effective in controlling bleeding oesophageal varices even in a limited resource setting and it should be implemented as the method of choice for management of oesophageal varices in our hospitals.
Keywords: Oesophageal varices, Endoscopic variceal ligation, Band ligation, Upper gastrointestinal bleeding.
Link/DOI: http://www.jmj.org.ly/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1368