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So, now I have a bit more detail about my Portal Vein Thrombosis and Hypertension. The GI Team discussed my case for almost a week, before a surgeon came into my room, explaining, what was going on and how they try to insert that shunt into my vein.

Here is what I’ve learned: The portal vein is connected to a completely different vein system than the regular veins that transport blood back to the heart. Imagine, you drive on a highway (in this case blood through the portal vein). The highway has a narrowing, due to construction (blood clot). Lots of cars try to drive on that highway and it becomes congested. Now, people get the idea to get off Exit 1, Exit 2, … etc. In the beginning, this is no problem. Unfortunately, there are not only a few cars; there are hundreds of cars trying to get off these exits. Now, the traffic at these exits gets congested as well. Everyone tries to get around the traffic, and it becomes jammed as well. The exits in my case are the veins to the esophagus and stomach. They got congested, bulged out, and began to bleed. Therefore I had blood in my vomit and stool, last week. Tomorrow, it’s the doctors’ job to build a bridge over that construction zone to release the traffic to other highways and streets in the form of a TIPS procedure. They work on the construction by removing the blood clots. The surgeons had to discuss this project for a while to make sure the outcome would be long-lasting with minimal risks involved.

And yes, the team works with medication on my pancreatitis, stomach ulcer, and anemia. Today is day #10, me being in the hospital. I haven’t bled for almost a week now. So, they must have been doing it right.

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~ 12/07/2021 ~