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portasystemic shunt, surgical

surgical venous shunt between the portal and systemic circulation to effect decompression of the portal circulation. It is performed primarily in the treatment of bleeding oesophageal varices resulting from portal hypertension. Types of shunt include portacaval, splenorenal, mesocaval, splenocaval, left gastric-caval (coronary-caval), portarenal, umbilicorenal, and umbilicocaval.