Dilatation and Stenting

Esophageal varices are seen in approximately 50% of patients with portal hypertension and are a major cause of morbidity and mortality in patients with chronic liver disease. Variceal bleeding occurs at a yearly rate of 5%-15%. The highest risk of first bleeding occurs in patients with large varices and advanced liver diseaseEsophageal variceal band ligation is the best form of management for variceal bleeding until liver transplantation or surgical shunting is unavoidably required as a result of recurrent bleeding [3]. The frequency of esophageal variceal band ligation (EVBL) for the eradication of esophageal varices has no consensus. Some authors reported a minimum of one month between banding procedures while others perform EVBL on a weekly basis. Also, little data is available on the number of sessions required to achieve complete variceal eradication in Pakistan. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine the number of EVBL sessions and interval required for the obliteration of esophageal varices.