The comparative survivals of alcoholics versus nonalcoholics after distal splenorenal shunt.

Survival after distal splenorenal shunt in appreciably better in nonalcoholic patients than in alcoholics. This increase in survival does not appear to be dependent upon the state of biochemical liver function or the severity of changes in liver histology since these latter were similar for both groups. We suggest that the poorer survival of alcoholics may be related to continuing alcohol toxicity, and that a possible reason for the failure to demonstrate this difference in survival after portacaval shunts may be due to the harmful effects of total portal diversion on the liver.