Endoscopic Variceal Band Ligation: A Safe Way to Treat Oesophageal Varices

Abstract

Bleeding from oesophageal varices is the most dreaded complication of chronic liver disease and is associated with high mortality. Endoscopic variceal ligation is one of the more recent effective treatment modalities. This study was aimed at evaluating our experience with endoscopic variceal ligation with a view to stressing the safety associated with the procedure. A prospective study of consecutive patients presenting to the Jos University Teaching Hospital and FOMAS hospital endoscopic units was conducted over a 6 year period. A total of 199 sessions of endoscopic sessions were carried out on 83 patients with different grades of varices. There were 68 males and 15 females (M:F = 4.5:1). The mean age of the study population was 48 +/- 7.4 years with age range of 17 to 63 years. The number of sessions of banding required for variceal obliteration in this study varied from 43 (51.8%) who had 3 sessions of banding, 30 (36.1%) who had 2 sessions and 10 (12.0%) that had a single session of variceal band ligation. All patients were placed on Propanolol tablets. There were no recorded episodes of procedure related bleeding, significant re-bleeding, post-procedure retrosternal pain, stricture or ulceration in this study, attesting to the safety of endoscopic variceal ligation.