Late Bleeding Episodes Following Intestinal Transplantation: It Is Not Always Rejection or Infection.

ABSTRACT

Ectopic varices have been reported in 5% of children presenting with variceal bleeding and are defined as portosystemic venous collaterals occurring anywhere in the abdomen except in the cardioesophageal region. The liver-intestinal transplant or isolated liver-intestinal transplant patient presenting several years post-transplant with ectopic variceal bleeding as a consequence of portal hypertension is a seldom reported complication. Etiologies such as rejection or infection are a more common source of bleeding, and only after excluding these can differentials such as portal hypertension secondary to a blocked portacaval shunt or native liver disease be considered.