A 20-year-old patient came to our emergency department due to abdominal pain that had been progressing over the previous 72h in association with vomiting and liquid stools. Physical examination and lab work showed no significant alterations. Abdominal CT, MRI (Fig. 1) and liver ultrasound identified a large varicose dilatation of the inferior mesenteric vein (IMV) with a mesenteric-hypogastric shunt. The IMV (Fig. 1) showed inverted flow and there were no intra- or extrahepatic portal branches. Abernethy malformation is the congenital absence of the portal vein with secondary caval-mesenteric shunt. There are 2 types: type I, which is an end-to-side shunt (total absence of intrahepatic portal flow); and type II, which is a side-to-side shunt (partially preserved portal flow).
Diagnosis: Abernethy malformation.
Please cite this article as: Benavides de la Rosa F, López de Cenarruzabeitia Í, García-Castaño Gandiaga J, Beltrán de Heredia JP. Malformación de Abernethy: shunt portosistémico congénito. Cir Esp. 2015;93:e17.
