Endoscopic sclerotherapy versus band ligation in the treatment of bleeding esophageal varices in children with portal hypertension

Abstract

Bleeding from esophageal varices is the commonest cause of serious upper gastrointestinal hemorrhage in children and is associatedwith a death rate of (5-9%) in those with portal vein obstruction and a considerably greater morbidity and mortality in children with cirrhosis. Opinions on the primary management of this condition have been largely divided between those who advocate porto systemic shunting and those who favoured non surgical techniques which became the most applicable ones nowadays.