Multimodal therapy of recurrent and refractory bleeding from esophageal varices – case report and review of the literature

Bleeding from esophageal varices is a major cause of mortality in patients with advanced liver disease. Although standard treatment and secondary prophylaxis are effective, in some patients sustained hemostasis cannot be achieved. We report the case of a woman with alcoholic liver disease in whom pharmacological, endoscopic, and intravascular therapies failed to control variceal bleeding. Only a combination of (repeated) band ligation, insertion of a self-expanding metal stent, TIPS implantation and redilatation, transjugular variceal embolization, and finally implantation of a portocaval shunt proved to be successful. We discuss the stepwise approach to this situation and the challenges encountered in the process.