Abstract
Thrombocytopenia is a common complication in patients with portal hypertension due to chronic liver disease and is often life-threatening. Partial splenic embolization (PSE) was developed by Spigos as a treatment with fewer complications than splenic artery embolization. In recent years, the number of PSE procedures has decreased in Japan due to the introduction of lusutrombopag, an orally active, small-molecule human thrombopoietin (TPO) receptor agonist that induces platelet production. Since the report by Spigos, PSE has been found to not only improve thrombocytopenia, but also reduce portal venous pressure and improve liver function. Therefore, PSE can play a significant role as one of the multidisciplinary treatments for portal hypertension. We believe that PSE is a procedure that will never go away and deserves to be performed more aggressively.
