Prognosis of Balloon-occluded Retrograde Transvenous Obliteration (B-RTO) for Gastric Varices

Abstract

Since August 1990, we treated 80 cases with gastric varices by balloon-occluded retrograde transvenous obliteration (B-RTO) and evaluated their long-term prognosis. Survival rates one and five years after B-RTO were 93.3% and 55.3%, respectively. Cumulative relapse rates of fundal varices one and five years after B-RTO were 1.4% and 4.4%, respectively. Cause of death after a long-term survival was development of hepatoma in half of cases. Thus, it was revealed by the present study that a significant prognostic factor after B-RTO was accompanying hepatoma.