Surgical diagnosis and treatment of portal vein thrombosis

Portal vein thrombosis refers to thrombotic lesions in the portal vein and is caused by various etiologies. Its clinical manifestations vary with location, extension, degree of vascular occlusion, and formation time, and severe thrombosis may cause gastrointestinal congestion and necrosis, liver insufficiency, esophagogastric variceal bleeding, and portal hypertensive biliary disease and even threatens patients' life.Color Doppler ultrasound and contrast-enhanced abdominal computed tomography/magnetic resonance imaging are important auxiliary examinations for the diagnosis of portal vein thrombosis and play a vital role in early diagnosis and treatment, severity evaluation, and guidance for targeted treatment of this disease. Therapies of portal vein thrombosis depend on its severity and mainly target portal vein thrombosis and its complications. Surgical treatment should be performed for patients with intestinal congestion and necrosis, portal hypertension with esophagogastric variceal bleeding, splenomegaly, hypersplenism, portal hypertensive biliary disease, and end-stage liver disease. This article reviews the advances in the etiology, clinical manifestations, diagnosis, and surgical treatment of portal vein thrombosis.