Secondary prophylaxis with elastic band ligation in esophageal-gastric varices

The aim of the present study was to determine the usefulness of elastic band ligation in the prevention of hemorrhage recurrence due to esophageal-gastric varices. Sixty-five patients who survived an episode of variceal hemorrhage were included in the study. Twenty-nine patients (45%) were Child-Pugh class A, 25 (38%) were class B, and 11 (17%) were class C. The cause of cirrhosis was hepatitis C virus and alcohol in 45% and 31% of the patients, respectively. The first ligation session was performed between the third and fifth day after the hemorrhagic episode and subsequent sessions were carried out at intervals of 3-4 weeks. The ligation sessions were performed with antibiotic prophylaxis. A mean of 2.7 bands were placed per session (range 1-5), and the mean number of sessions required per patient to achieve variceal eradication was 2.5 (range 1-6). The rate of bleeding recurrence was 24.6% (16 episodes). In conclusion, endoscopic elastic band ligation is a useful technique for the eradication of esophageal varices and for the prevention of bleeding recurrence.