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Esophageal Varices

Your esophagus is the tube that carries swallowed food from your mouth into your stomach. To do this, the esophagus muscles move to guide the food into the stomach. Veins supply the esophagus with blood.

In esophageal varices, these veins become very dilated (enlarged). Esophageal varices is most common in patients of cirrhosis of the liver. Damage to your liver causes problems with blood flow into the liver. This causes it to back up into your esophagus. It can then damage the veins nearest the liver. If the esophageal varices ruptures, it can be a life-threatening condition.

Diagnosis

If you have cirrhosis, your doctor will want to check periodically on the condition of your esophagus. Your doctor will do a test called an endoscopy. This test uses a flexible tube with a tiny camera, to take pictures of the inside of your esophagus and its veins. You will be sedated for this procedure.

He or she may also request tests such as ultrasound or CT scan.

Symptoms

Symptoms include:

vomiting blood
blood in stool or dark stool
extreme thirst
lightheadedness or dizziness
decreased urination

Treatment

The goal of treating esophageal varices is to prevent bleeding. Your doctor may prescribe medicine to help treat your condition; high blood pressure drugs are often effective. He may also recommend an injection (shot) directly into the affected vein to help it shrink. In severe cases, your doctor may operate and insert elastic bands to lessen the size of the varices.

Vanderbilt University Medical Center Main Number: 615-322-5000

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