Asymptomatic aneurysmal portosystemic venous shunt: a case report and review of the literature

Spontaneous intrahepatic portosystemic venous shunt (SIPSVS) is relatively rare and not well recognized. Herein, we report 75-year-old female of an aneurysmal portosystemic venous shunt detected by colour Doppler ultrasound in check-up examination. A direct vascular communication between left portal vein and middle hepatic vein was confirmed by CT-angiography. The cause of intrahepatic portosystemic venous shunt is disputed. This abnormality, mainly described in cirrhotic liver and rarely in healthy liver, is usually revealed by hepatic encephalopathy or glycoregulation disorders. However, with improvements in imaging the number of reports of SIPSVS identified incidentally in patients without definite symptoms increasing.