Abstract
A 55-year-old man was admitted to our hospital with the chief complaints of fever, icterus and abdominal full sensation. Unless his condition improved gradually, CT scan showed diffuse low density area in the liver, splenomegaly and slight ascites. To clarify the liver lesions, angiography and peritoneoscopy were performed. Superior mesenteric arterial portography disclosed cavernous transformation of the portal vein, probably caused by the pylephlebitis. Peritoneoscopy and liver biopsy disclosed a remarkable fatty change of the liver without malignancy. ERCP and X-ray examination revealed no abnormalities in the alimentary tracts, so the cause of the pylephlebitis remained unknown. There have been no reports so far on the pylephlebitis which caused fatty degeneration of the liver except for this case.
